


A Thousand Cranes for a Wish

by Piggycats_be_mooing



Series: Haikyuu School Tour [2]
Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Aobajousai, Author Is Sleep Deprived, Bad Jokes, Childhood Friends, Cliche, Drawing, Everyone Needs A Hug, F/M, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Goshiki is Baby, I'm Bad At Tagging, Karasuno, M/M, Mutual Pining, No beta reader, OC insert, OC is good at art, Origami, Original Character(s), Pining, Pining Original character(s), Pining Ushijima Wakatoshi, Salty Shirabu Kenjirou, Shiratorizawa, Slow Burn, Sports, Tendou is best wingman, Volleyball, Volleyball Dorks in Love, We Die Like Men, You Should Have Come to Shiratorizawa, art student, it's fate, like really good, more tags to be added probably, paper cranes, we all love those
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-25
Updated: 2020-11-02
Packaged: 2021-03-06 16:07:42
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 42
Words: 65,927
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26091622
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Piggycats_be_mooing/pseuds/Piggycats_be_mooing
Summary: (USHIJIMA X OC)They say that after making one thousand paper cranes you can make a wish and it will come true...----Akiyama Umeko was a third year student at Shiratorizawa with one goal, to make one thousand paper cranes. This was her last year and she wanted to complete her goal.Umeko didn't really have much interest in anything other than the creative arts so it was only natural she didn't know much about volleyball. She had no reason to go to the gym, no reason to talk to the members of the club and certainly no reason to meet the captain of the team.However, a series of totally unplanned cliche events changed that.Soon she found herself very involved with the team and especially it's captain.
Relationships: Hinata Shouyou/Kageyama Tobio, Iwaizumi Hajime & Oikawa Tooru, Iwaizumi Hajime & Original Character(s), Iwaizumi Hajime/Oikawa Tooru, Oikawa Tooru & Original Character(s), Original Character(s) & Original Character(s), Shirabu & Original Female Character(s), Shiratorizawa & Original Female Character(s), Tendou & Original Female Character(s), Ushijima Wakatoshi/Original Character(s), Ushijima Wakatoshi/Original Female Character(s), Volleyball/Everyone
Series: Haikyuu School Tour [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1894423
Comments: 55
Kudos: 187





	1. That’s so Cliché

**Author's Note:**

> (USHIJIMA X OC)
> 
> Hey there!  
> It's been almost two weeks!
> 
> After writing about Aoba Johsai I decided to show us readers into Shiratorizawa and here we are! 
> 
> Again, disclaimer - I'm not a volleyball guru or anything so some parts might be inaccurate, the internet can only tell me so much :(
> 
> Thanks for reading and hope you enjoy!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Welcome to Shiratorizawa

A girl hummed as she sat in an empty club room. She focused intently as she folded the paper. “Come on…” She finished the last fold and tucked a strand of her black hair behind her ear. “Finished.” She examined her work and pouted displeased with herself. “I thought it’d be a crane this time.” She sighed and placed the origami cow down on her table. “Next time for sure.”

\----------

“And that is how you find the property of this derivative.” The teacher smiled proudly at his formula on the board. “Tomorrow we will be going over integrals of functions. You are all dismissed.”

The black-haired girl got up slowly and sighed. She hated calculus with her entire being, it just wasn’t something she was a fan of. Anything in the creative arts were more her forte, math was just a nightmare.

“Akiyama. Akiyama, Akiyama Umeko!”

“Y-yes?” Umeko turned around to face her teacher with an apologetic look on her face. She was spacing out a little, so she hadn’t heard anything of what was said.

“I said, could you bring this to the staff room?”

Umeko nodded and took the small stack of papers from her teacher. “Can do!” She chirped. Umeko waved goodbye and began walking to the staff room. She had no qualms with bringing the paper over since it was going to be break in a few minutes.

Umeko hummed quietly to herself and turned the corner. Everything was going smoothly before she was rudely interrupted by what felt like a brick wall. “Ouch.” She fell back on her rump, the papers scattered around her.

Ushijima stood rigid and looked down at the girl who had just bumped into him. She was considerably shorter than he was and had a much smaller frame. _She looks…fragile._ Ushijima watched her gather the items she dropped; her onyx tinted hair bounced in tight ringlets just below her chin. Her eyes downturned at the end making her grey blue eyes seem more like a gentle snowfall rather than a frigid hailstorm. She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and revealed a single red hair wrap and star stud earrings. Ushijima decided that they suited her.

“Sorry about that.” Umeko’s face was tinged pink in embarrassment as she looked up at him. There was a long awkward pause between the two. Umeko wasn’t really sure if the guy was planning on saying anything or helping or if he just planned to stand there. She hastily stacked the papers and stood back up again. Now that she was standing, she could inspect the person she bumped into.

 _Ah, that’s why it felt like I hit a brick wall. I practically did._ Her eyes quickly scanned his muscular frame before meeting his. He looked sort of familiar but at the same time she couldn’t quite put a name to a face. Dark olive-brown hair and matching olive colored eyes weren’t exactly common traits so it was a crime that she couldn’t remember who he was _._

Ushijima’s stoic expression didn’t change. “Good?” His voice sounded like a low rumble which unsurprisingly matched his intimidating appearance.

Umeko’s attention was pulled back “Great.” She was so busy examining his features that she almost didn’t hear him. To say he was easy on the eyes and wonderful on the ears was a gross understatement.

Ushijima simply nodded and walked away leaving behind a very confused Umeko.

****

****

**_-_ ** **\----LATER AT LUNCH BREAK-----**

“Wakatoshi!” Tendou flagged down Ushijima and ran to catch up with him. It was finally lunch time. Once Tendou was close enough, he began to talk animatedly. “Anything interesting or fun happen today?”

“No.”

“Out of the ordinary?” Tendou tried again, his smile never leaving his face. He was used to Ushijima’s one liners and he didn’t really mind them at all. He could talk enough for the both of them.

“I bumped into a girl.” Ushijima recalled what had happened a few hours ago. “She fell over.”

Tendou nodded, his red hair following suit. “Hmnm” His body jerked back suddenly in surprise. “Woah wait, what?!” Through his years of knowing Ushijima, he had never once mentioned knocking someone over – a girl no less. “Is she alright?”

Ushijima nodded. “Yes.” He gestured in a vague area to the left “She’s over there.”

Immediately Tendou whipped his head around to try to see the mysterious girl. “Uh, Wakatoshi. You’ll have to be more specific.”

“By the window.”

Tendou furrowed his eyebrows in effort to try and guess where that would be. “That whole side is lined with windows. Maybe a little more?”

“Black hair.”

At this point Tendou’s curiosity dwindled down and he gave up. The girl was fine anyway.

\----------

Umeko held her lunch in one hand and her sketchbook in the other as she walked through the cafeteria with a pep in her step. She much preferred the outdoor seating the school provided compared to the loud dining area. Through her entire three years at Shiratorizawa she was convinced that she knew all the best quiet places in the school -barring the library. You’re not allowed to eat in the library.

Umeko weaved through the cafeteria and took a sharp turn left before the people walking in front of her suddenly stopped and caused her face to collide with someone’s back with a pomf. Umeko scrunched up her face and wriggled her nose. “Why’d you stop?” She looked up at the two boys and immediately recognized the olive-haired boy from the morning. _Ah, it’s this guy._

Ushijima turned to face her, followed in quick succession by Tendou. The pair looked at each other for a moment before Tendou took a deep breath and leaned forward with a finger pointed up “W-”

“Wait.” Umeko suddenly interrupted Tendou before he could say anything. “I think I don’t want to know. It’s your moment together. I mean, not like _, together,_ together, unless you are. In which case I'm totally ok with that and support it. So, um.” She took a slow step back keeping her movements smooth. “I'm not implying there is anything going on, but I mean if you want there to be, there can be?” She blushed embarrassed and put her hands together. “Okay bye!” She briskly walked around the pair and sped up to her destination leaving the two boys behind.

“That was her.”

Tendou’s eyes widened as he hopped up and down while frantically scanning the room for the small girl. It soon became apparent that he wasn’t going to find her in the mass of jostling people, he huffed then stopped jumping. The girl had already left and blended into the background.

\--------

Umeko didn’t slow down her walk till she reached her destination. During her first year at Shiratorizawa Umeko had found a secluded outdoor stairwell. It was just a plain old concrete staircase with an almost rusted handlebar, but it was her second favorite spot to eat. In the spring and summer seasons the surrounding area was a riot of color, she could just sit in peace and enjoy the breeze.

Umeko closed her eyes and listened to the birds’ singing as she ate. Unfortunately, the calm serenity didn’t last long. “Ahhhh, why did I say that.” Umeko whimpered as she mussed up all her hair. The embarrassment from earlier really hit hard. She always had such trouble when it came to socializing with more than one person. Umeko opened her sketch book and tried to draw her stress away only to fail miserably. She moved locations to a nearby bench to try to draw something else. After a few minutes of fruitless effort Umeko settled for drawing a stickman instead. “What a beautiful stickman.”

****

****

**_-_ ** **\----END OF SCHOOL DAY-----**

Just like lunch break, the remaining classes of the day went by smoothly. Umeko planned to go back to her dorm room until she heard a quiet meowing from the tree. “Kitty?” Umeko looked up trying to place the sound. On the uppermost branch she saw a small white cat, if the sounds were any indication, it was clear that the poor thing was stuck. Umeko put down her bag and took off her white blazer. _Don’t want to get these dirty._ Once she rolled up the sleeves of her blue school issued dress shirt, she began to clamber up the tree. _Thank goodness I wore stockings with my skirt today. I mean, even if I didn’t, I would still probably climb anyway._

Tree climbing wasn’t something she did well as a kid, so naturally as a teenager she still wasn’t the best at it. But desperate times call for desperate measures. Umeko couldn’t just leave the cat up in the tree! “Hey, kitty.” She ever so slowly reached her hands forward towards the cat. “I’ll help you down.” The cat stopped crying for help and instead turned to face Umeko with a sly look. “Don’t. You. Dare.”

If cats could smirk Umeko would have claimed that this white cat did. The cat leapt into her arms and knocked her off balance. She squeaked and fell off the tree. Umeko braced herself for the impact from the fall, the cat still in her arms.

Umeko was caught princess style before she even got close to the ground. She opened her eyes. “Oh.” It was the same guy as before. “Hi there, nice to see you again.” Umeko was well aware that the entire encounter was horribly cliché. She grinned brightly, her smile rivaling the sun. “Akiyama Umeko, thanks for catching me.”


	2. It's Fate

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> How to make a 'chance encounter'

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What did the blanket say to the bed?  
> Don't worry, I've got you covered!
> 
> Enjoy!

Ushijima blinked a few times stunned. This girl had just fallen into his arms. Not just any girl either, the girl who had run into him, multiple times. “Ushijima Wakatoshi.” He very carefully placed her down and let go of her when she regained her bearings. “I don’t think you should continue climbing trees, it doesn’t seem to be your strength. Get a ladder or ask someone for help next time.”

Umeko nodded, the cat still in her arms. “Alright. I was just very keen on helping this adorable little fur baby.” Umeko snuggled the cat and caused it to mewl in return.

“That is a cat.” Ushijima deadpanned to correct her, not quite grasping that ‘adorable little fur baby’ was referring to the cat in her arms. “It seems to be unhurt.”

“Yep!” Umeko quipped happily then looked back up at Ushijima. “You saved both of us! Thank you!” no sooner than Umeko had finished thanking him did the cat jump out of her arms and disappear back into the bushes.

The pair watched as the cat left without so much as a glance back. “You’re welcome. Be more careful next time, I can’t always catch you.”

Before Umeko could respond to Ushijima’s cautionary words she heard another approaching voice from behind him. It was the same guy who was at lunch. As he approached, she stiffened, she grew a little more anxious. She just felt so uncomfortable talking to more than one person -unless she knew them both very well, but that’s a whole different story. Umeko was well aware that if she suddenly left now that would be incredibly rude. “Ah, your friend is back.”

Ushijima nodded; his stoic expression never left his face. “It is volleyball time. Goodbye, Akiyama.” He gave her a brief goodbye before he briskly walked to his tall friend meeting him halfway to the gym.

Umeko was grateful that Ushijima had decided to meet his friend rather than have the red-haired boy come closer to them. She had nothing against his friend, but she just wasn’t good socializing, she would become either a rambling mess or just overwhelmingly awkward.

At the very least she could put a name to a face. _Ushijima Wakatoshi._ Where had she heard that name before and why was it so familiar? The realization dawned on her. On the outside she managed to remain cool and collected, but on the inside, she was panicking. She was just saved by Ushijima, the captain and ace of the volleyball team.

Once Ushijima was out of view, Umeko crouched down and hid her face in her hands. He was arguably one of the most popular students in the school. _How could I forget who he was? Ushijima has an enormous hardcore fanbase._ Eventually Umeko took a deep breath and recomposed herself; she definitely wasn’t going to forget him now. She patted down her grey sweater trying to get the remaining fur off her clothing. Umeko sighed and accepted that this moment would probably be the last time they came in contact. It was a real shame; she would have liked to draw him.

\--------

Tendou waved as Ushijima got closer. “Was that the girl again?”

Ushijima nodded and entered the gym beside Tendou. “Akiyama was in a tree and fell into my arms, she was holding a cat. That was the third time I've run into her today.”

The wheels started turning in Tendou’s head. “It’s fate!” He held both hands in the air out of sheer excitement. Ushijima gave him a face to indicate that he really didn’t believe in fate but wasn’t about to argue for his case.

****

****

**_-_ ** **\----FOURTY FIVE MINUTES LATER-----**

Akiyama had piqued Tendou’s interest. He had seen the undeniable connection between the two. Be it that his own imagination had fabricated the entire thing or that there was actually a spark, Tendou made it his personal mission to be the greatest wingman he could be. The real question was, how was he going to create more opportunities for the pair to interact? Tendou didn’t even know much about her. Sure, the name Akiyama seemed sort of familiar, but he couldn’t place why. Throughout volleyball practice, he had been brainstorming ways to be friends with the girl or at least give her a reason to enter the gym. Practice wasn’t even over when he was practically handed the first opportunity. From the gym windows he saw the girl in question walk closer.

“Yes, yes, yes, this is it, this is fate!” He practically shouted his words as she hastily went to grab a volleyball.

The rest of the Shiratorizawa team -coach included- looked at Tendou, perplexed over his actions, though there was nothing new there.

Tendou paid no mind to the questioning looks his teammates were sending him, he had more pressing matters to deal with. When Akiyama was a mere few meters away, Tendou ever so carefully rolled a volleyball out the door. His plan was to have her pick up the ball and bring it inside the gym, from there he could find out more about her.

\----------

Umeko hummed along with the music blasting from her wireless earphones. She made her way to the gym, it was a very, very hard building to miss. It was huge. Unlike other school gyms, Shiratorizawa’s gym was at least twice the size and had a plethora of windows. The gym was very geometrical which followed the rest of the school structure, of course barring the cylindrical portion which sat on the left side of the building. Umeko wasn’t sure why that was there or what it was for, but she had to admit, it was a nice touch. Very aesthetically pleasing.

Umeko was about to walk past the side door when a red, green and white ball rolled out and stopped in front of her. She too stopped in front of it. Upon closer inspection she determined that it was a volleyball. Umeko looked left then right suspiciously, before she picked up the ball and spun it around in her hand a few times. She had only gotten to play with a volleyball a few times when she was a kid. Two of her friends were almost obsessed with the sport. They had even gone out a few times to watch a big game together. _It’s been a while since we’ve actually all hung out together now that I think about it._ Umeko made sure no one had come out before throwing the ball back inside through the door and scampering away.

\-------

Tendou watched the ball get thrown back in. “What!? No, she was supposed to come in! How could this be?! Maybe it wasn’t fate after all. But that’s impossible!” Tendou swung his arms around in exaggerated gestures. How could his genius plan fail? He began to pace back and forth; he wasn’t expecting her to just throw the ball back in through the open door. I mean, who does that? _Akiyama does apparently._

A boy with thick triangular eyebrows and black hair was the first to ask. He originally planned to reel Tendou back in, but he wanted to know what he was talking about. “Who was supposed to come in?”

“Akiyama was supposed to come in. She was going to come in and bring the ball back. It was supposed to be fate.” Tendou fell to his knees in a highly over dramatic way. “Was it not fate but mere coincidence instead? Oohira! Why is the world so cruel?”

Oohira wasn’t really sure how to respond at first. He just looked around at his other teammates with a shrug. “Does anyone know this Akiyama?”

Everyone shook their heads. With the exception of Ushijima who was so engrossed in practice that he didn’t notice the rest of the team were crowded around Tendou.

“His crush!?” An overly enthusiastic first year called out.

A boy with thick messy ash blonde hair shook his head. “No way, Goshiki. More like top of a hit list.”

“I agree with Semi. Goshiki is an idiot.” Another boy scoffed as he joined in the conversation.

“Shirabu…” Oohira groaned and rubbed his forehead. Instead of speculating it was just better to ask Tendou himself. “Who is this Akiyama and why did you want her to come in?”

“She is in my class and Wakato-” Tendou paused mid-sentence to interrupt himself. “Akiyama is in my class!” He cackled like a mad genius at his realization, how could he forget? Well to be fair she was a little forgettable. She kept to herself and showed a severe lack in personality when compared to Tendou himself. “This is fate!” He punched the air with both hands and gave a rather unsettling grin to his teammates. “Operation friendship is ready to go.”


	3. Art and Volleyball

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Umeko and a stranger talk.  
> Operation friendship is a go!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I like to hold hands at the movies...which always seems to startle strangers.
> 
> Happy reading~!

Umeko entered a building just a little away from the school gym. From outside it seemed like a dingy storeroom that was connected to the side of the main building but upon closer inspection it was a club room. The small metal plaque beside the door was covered in years of grime and dirt which made it almost impossible to read. Almost. She moved the sign to the side and revealed a hidden key. Umeko unlocked the door and put the key back in its place before entering the room.

The first thing to note about the room was that it was incredibly clean. A stark contrast to the grunge outside. The floor was auburn polished wood, free of dust and clutter. Umeko didn’t bother to turn on the lights since the single large window lit the room a fair amount already. The walls were cream, not like the kind you pour in coffee but the hue of beach sand during the late afternoon. The room was very homey and gave off a warm aura that allowed a person to relax. There was a large rectangular table in the center with four plush chairs tucked in around it. In the left corner was a smaller circular table closer to the floor placed between one green and one red beanbag chair. On the circular table there was a multitude of origami creations arranged lovingly on display and a framed group photo of three people sitting in the center.

Umeko walked to the left and to the five wooden cubbies on the wall. Three out of the five were labeled with names.

The cubby labeled ‘Sakuma Mamoru’ contained athletic tape, a hat, and a fair number of snacks.

The next cubby belonged to ‘Hashimoto Yuki’. It held a pair of glasses, a single pencil and a single blue pen.

Umeko went to her cubby labeled with her name. She reshuffled the contents and managed to fit her sketchbook and pencils inside.

The largest cubby was filled with stacks and stacks of origami paper of different sizes and colors.

The last unnamed cubby however, was empty.

Umeko took a small stack of paper and placed it on her spot at the table. She sat down, lowered the volume of her music a little bit then began to fold. Time continued to pass as she remained in her own little world. Umeko had spent most of that time trying to complete an origami crane only to end up making other animals instead. It happened so frequently that she could have sworn that it was a curse. Who tries to make a paper crane only to have it turn into something else instead?

Umeko heard the door open but didn’t look up. She just kept creasing and folding the paper. If she looked away and lost concentration for even a second, she feared the paper would turn into something else entirely. 

The unknown person took their place opposite her and folded two slightly misshapen cranes, on both cranes the right wing was wrinkled from holding too tightly. The folds were a little clumsy but at least the result was the correct animal. “Did you win?” Umeko didn’t stop folding nor did she look up as she asked her question.

The person stood up and replied with one word before they moved to exit the room. “Yes.”

Umeko almost didn’t hear the answer through her music. It was a little hard to correctly pinpoint the voice as it would get lost somewhere in the lyrics. The interaction with the mystery person was a strange routine. Umeko had no idea who the person was because she never bothered to look up from her work and judging by the one liners the mystery person used, they didn’t care too much for conversation.

****

****

**_-_ ** **\----ONE HOUR LATER-----**

It had been a little over an hour by the time Umeko had decided to return back to her dorm. The sun was waning and made the room too dark to fold. She had only successfully managed to make three paper cranes in that hour.

Umeko stretched and began to put away her belongings. She carefully placed a paper trophy and a paper lion inside the unnamed cubby before she locked the door and left.

****

****

**_-_ ** **\----THE NEXT DAY-----**

Umeko had a bad feeling in her gut as she sat at her assigned seat at the back of the classroom. It wasn’t always a desirable seat, but she liked it back there.

“Hello!” A voice called out. She spotted the owner and recognized him to be Ushijima’s friend who was equally as tall but a little more unpredictable. “I'm Tendou. Want to be friends?” He squatted down by her desk so his eyes were level with hers.

Umeko would be lying if she said she wasn’t just a little scared of the boy in front of her. He was a different kind of intimidating than Ushijima was. Tendou had a playful expression on his face as he waited expectantly for her answer. Umeko wasn’t really sure what to say. She wasn’t used to a personality quite like Tendou.

Umeko decided that she really didn’t have anything to lose and having a friend in the same class didn’t seem too bad. “Sure. We can be friends.” Umeko smiled and nodded, he would be her first friend in Shiratorizawa.

“Yay!” Tendou jumped up pleased with the outcome and clapped a few times. “I’ll see you after school!”

“Wait, what? Where?” Umeko furrowed her eyebrows.

Tendou tilted his head with a sly grin adorning his features. “The gym of course.”

Before Umeko could reply the teacher entered the room to signal the start of class. A little part of Umeko died inside. No way did she want to go to the school gym. She had absolutely no reason to go there after school. And not to mention she really wanted to get to the cafeteria extra early to get the limited-edition pudding that only appeared once a month mind you. _If I just sneak away, it’ll be fine. I should be able to make it out unnoticed._

****

****

**_-_ ** **\----START OF LUNCH BREAK-----**

“Umeko! You thought you could escape!” Tendou trotted over with a wave and linked arms with her. “Can I call you that? Or do you want me to call you Akiyama?” The pair slowly began to walk to the cafeteria to get their food.

“You can call me Umeko if you’d like. I don’t really mind.” Truthfully, she just liked her first name more than her last name but there was no need to share the reason. Umeko walked alongside Tendou, unbothered by their linked arms. The cafeteria wasn’t too far away.

“Wakatoshi!” Tendou began to speed walk to Ushijima pulling Umeko along with him.

“H-hold on, Tendou! You can go hang out with Ushijima. You don’t have to bring me along.” Umeko tried to wrack her brain for a reason to leave, unable to find anything, she resigned herself to her fate. She could just make an excuse to leave later on. For now, she was going to take this in stride. _I can just take this as an exercise to overcome my fear of talking to lots of people._ At least that is what she told to herself.

Ushijima stopped and waited for the pair to arrive. While he was expecting Tendou he wasn’t expecting that he would bring a plus one with him. “Akiyama, hello again.” He gave her a polite nod. “Have you climbed any trees lately?”

“Not at all!” Umeko protested. The tips of her ears turned red as she remembered the encounter.

Ushijima gently put his hand on the top of her head. “Good.” He didn’t move his hand in any sort of patting motion but instead just left his large hand on her. There was a few seconds of stunned silence where neither Tendou nor Umeko knew what to do. Ushijima finally moved his hand away slowly.

_What just happened?! Was that his attempt at a head pat?_ Thoughts swirled in Umeko’s mind as she tried to make heads and tails of what just happened. Her stomach growled breaking her out of her thoughts.

Tendou simply laughed boisterously. It was going better than he thought it would. “So Umeko, what’s your favorite food?”

“I really like crab cream croquettes, but they don’t serve them here which is kind of a shame honestly.” Umeko temporarily forgot about her nervousness as she began to talk. The two boys listened intently to her rambling; they hadn’t seen her so enthused before.

It wasn’t long before she found herself sitting at a table with the pair talking about who knows what. Even Ushijima would occasionally contribute and add input to the conversation. Umeko’s eyes seemed to sparkle as the topic eventually shifted to the arts. It was something she was so passionate about and wanted to pursue a career in, no matter how much it was frowned upon. The only thing that interrupted her chatter was the need to eat a few spoonfuls of her lunch.

Tendou nodded along and waited for just the right time for him to slide in his question. “So how much do you know about volleyball?” he added in a nonchalant manner, he kept his voice light as to not give anything away. He needed to try to find the common connection between Ushijima and Umeko. Unfortunately, art was not one of them.


	4. A Special Friend

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Time to meet the team

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Want to get noticed?   
> Go jogging without moving your arms from your sides.

Umeko furrowed her eyebrows and tilted her head. “Well, if I'm being completely honest. I don’t really know much about it. I have two friends who are practically obsessed with the game but nothing other than that.” She shuffled uncomfortably in her seat and twiddled her thumbs. Even Umeko herself had to admit that she was rather ignorant of most topics not pertaining to the arts.

The trio stood up as they noticed the time. “You should come watch us!” Tendou suggested with a mischievous grin. While they put their plates away Tendou whispered something in Ushijima’s ear without Umeko noticing.

Umeko shook her head. “No, I couldn’t intrude like that. Besides I don’t think I’d be able to properly appreciate the team’s skills since I wouldn’t know what would be happening.”

Ushijima took a step closer to Umeko and put his hand on the wall beside her, effectively trapping Umeko between himself and the wall. If memory served her correctly this would be the perfect example of a Kabe-don. “U-Ushijima?” Her voice was shaky as heat rose to her cheeks. He was so close that he had to lower his gaze just to meet her eyes.

“You wouldn’t be a bother if you came.” Ushijima’s voice was a low rumble that sent tingles down Umeko’s spine. She was practically swooning at this point. Umeko feared that her heart would leap out of her mouth if she dared to say anything.

Ushijima looked towards Tendou briefly. “Am I doing this right?” He waited for his friend’s response, still not moving from his position. The night prior Tendou had slipped him a manga scene where doing so would supposedly make it easier to convince people to agree. Or so he claimed.

Tendou face palmed. Ushijima wasn’t supposed to ask him about technique. “I wanted to make her heart go doki-doki, you weren’t supposed to ask me if you were doing it correctly midway through the scene.”

Umeko could have sworn she was so close to foaming at the mouth from the proximity. Ushijima was close enough that she could smell the faint hint of peaches surrounding him. If she could identify what a person could smell like, they were far too close.

Ushijima looked back towards her, his voice a little softer than before “Is your heart going ‘doki doki’?”

It took all Umeko had not to freak out or even fall to her knees. She managed to squeak out a single word. “Yes.”

****

****

**_-_ ** **\----END OF LAST CLASS-----**

As soon as class ended, she was confronted by Tendou. “Ready to go?” he chirped with a grin on his face. He picked up Umeko’s bag for her.

Umeko resigned herself to her fate but allowed Tendou to hold onto her bag. “Yes.” Much to her dismay it didn’t take very long to walk from the main building to the gym. Umeko stopped outside of the side entrance and fidgeted with her fingers behind her back. She was convinced that maybe the leap in number of people was far too big for her.

Tendou led Umeko in through the door before he bounded over to his teammates. “Look who I've brought!” The rest of the team looked towards the pair attracted by Tendou’s noise.

“Akiyama. How are you?” Ushijima walked closer.

She smiled a little, comforted by his presence. At least she knew two people who were there. “I’m good. How about you?”

“I’m also good.”

Tendou’s smile only grew wider. “This is Umeko. She is in my class!” He turned back to face Umeko. “Umeko, this is the team.” Tendou pointed to each of the members as he started to list their names. “From right to left, this is Yamagata, and this is Kawanishi.” He pointed to the shortest boy with spiky hair then to the tall ginger with messy hair. He moved on and gestured to two other people. “This is Oohira and Goshiki.”

Unlike the last two, both Oohira and Goshiki waved with a small hello.

“This fella here is Semi-Semi”

Semi crossed his arms. “It’s just Semi”

Tendou dismissed him completely ignoring his words. “And last but not least this is Shirabu.”

The copper haired boy looked at her in disdain. It’s not like he disliked her right away, but he was a little suspicious of her. He had seen his fair share of crazy fangirls who act like they aren’t. He especially didn’t like people who would try to infiltrate the team with unpleasant motivations like trying to seduce Ushijima.

“Why have you brought someone here?” An older man -who Umeko assumed was the coach- walked towards the group. His greying hair was styled back revealing more of his stern face.

“She is a friend. A special friend.” Tendou corrected himself. “Who I brought along to watch us play today.” Tendou pulled Umeko in front of him and presented her to the coach. “She doesn’t know much about volleyball, so I wanted to show her.”

The coach’s expression didn’t change but he went back to sit at his place on the bench. “As long as she doesn’t become a distraction.” He grunted begrudgingly.

Umeko laughed awkwardly feeling rather defeated. “No need to worry there, I'm good at being invisible.” Collectively the club members tensed up with no idea what to say. How do you even follow up from a statement like that?

Thankfully, Tendou came to the rescue. “Here, just sit riiiiight on the bench and watch us closely.” He stirred Umeko to the bench and sat her right beside the Coach. Once he made sure that Umeko wasn’t going to bolt, he quickly ran to get ready for practice.

“Who are you and what is your relationship with Tendou?” The Coach eyed her suspiciously.

Umeko almost squeaked as she mumbled out a reply. “I-I'm Akiyama Umeko. Tendou and I are friends, I think…” she sat up straighter than she had ever in her life and remained stiff on the bench not daring a glance towards the coach.

“My eyes are over here. And speak up!” The Coach didn’t take his eyes off her trying to determine who she was.

Umeko cleared her throat and turned to make eye contact with the coach. “I’m Akiyama Umeko! I'm one of Tendou’s friends and I'm also in the same class as him.”

The Coach nodded. “Better. I don’t like people who mutter. Always look at people when you are talking to them.” He clicked his tongue then turned back to watch the team as they warmed up. 

****

****

**_-_ ** **\----FOURTY-FIVE MINUTES LATER-----**

Umeko was awestruck as she watched the boys train in silence, she couldn’t look away. Despite how hard the practice looked none of the boys were discouraged in the least. Rather they were all focused and had a look of determination on their faces. They were all doing what they loved and worked hard to be the best.

**\--------**

From time to time Shirabu glanced over at Umeko when she wasn’t looking. She looked completely enthralled by their training. Shirabu was a little suspicious about her true motives. As far as he could remember, there had been no fans allowed anywhere near the court. But here comes this girl and sits right next to the coach. With Tendou’s support she was given unearned privileges.

_What was this ‘Umeko’s’ end game? Was she here with a grand scheme to seduce Ushijima?_ Shirabu hadn’t seen much of their interactions but she seemed a lot closer with Ushijima compared to his normal fans. It might have been acceptable if they were classmates, but they weren’t. There was no reason they would be close to begin with.

“Tendou, how does Ushijima know about Umeko?”

Tendou looked at Shirabu with an unsettling grin on his face. “Weeeeeeeellllllllllllllllll” He elongated his words and leaned forward, “As it turns out, in one day the pair had bumped into each other three times. Wakatoshi told me that they ran into one another in the corridor, then they bumped into each other again at lunch, but that time I was there.” Tendou moved his fingers like a conductor would as he continued to talk. “And the last time was when she fell from a tree and right into Wakatoshi’s arms. Clearly this is fate.”

_Three times in one day? There was no way that was a coincidence at that point._ _Come on, falling from a tree? That had to be planned._ Shirabu needed to uncover her true motives and show the team what her plan really was.

\--------

Umeko fidgeted as she eventually noticed Shirabu’s glares, just what had she done which had warranted this kind of animosity? Or perhaps he was just protective of his team, it was hard to get a read on him due to her limited people skills. Being the non-confrontational person she is, Umeko decided to just ignore the burning glares which only intensified when Ushijima walked over to her.

“What do you think of volleyball?” Ushijima waited for an answer, unmoving.

Umeko didn’t have to think twice before she answered. “It looks really cool. You were all super into it. I completely understand how passionate everyone is -you especially. This sport means a whole lot to you all.” She rubbed the back of her neck; she had been talking to people considerably taller than she was and her body was definitely not used to it.

Ushijima nodded. “I love volleyball.”


	5. Team Bonding

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bad nicknames   
> Walking is a bonding activity

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What did the scientist say when he found two isotopes of helium?   
> HeHe
> 
> Enjoy!

“So, this is the ‘Akiyama’ you were talking about before?” Oohira asked as the boys all changed back into their formal uniform.

“Yep!” Tendou chirped, very pleased with himself. He had managed to get her to sit and not run away from the bench, but now he needed a plan to entice her to come visit the club more often. Wakatoshi was already talking to her of his own accord -though if Tendou was being honest, he had nothing to do with that progression.

“I feel a little unsure about her though” Shirabu sighed as he shrugged on his white blazer. He was trying to be accepting of her, but he couldn’t help but be a little cautious. Something like this had never happened before. Ushijima hadn’t even mentioned being interested in anything or anyone non-volleyball related.

“Little Bit is pleasant to talk to.” Ushijima closed his locker and looked through his bag to make sure he had everything he needed.

Tendou stopped what he was doing and tilted his head. “Little Bit?”

“Akiyama is Little Bit.”

“Uh, a little bit what?” Oohira, like the rest of the members were confused with what Ushijima was trying to say. Did he just not finish his sentence?

Tendou was the first to understand. “It’s a nickname.” He started cackling. He couldn’t help it. The name was so just so ridiculous and awful that it was honestly a crime. He held his sides in an attempt to stop his wheezing. “It’s a nickname, pfft” He repeated himself as he hit the ground with his fist, tears coming out the corner of his eyes. “W-why are you, why did you give her a nickname?”

Ushijima looked to Tendou. “In the manga you showed me it seemed to be appropriate to give nicknames to your female friends.”

Putting aside the sense of defeat Shirabu felt, he looked at Tendou in horror. Tendou had slipped Ushijima a shoujo manga. Of course, Shirabu himself had never read a shoujo manga but he had heard of their contents. It was all romantic high school drama.

“I don’t think ‘Little Bit’ is a very good choice.” Semi furrowed his eyebrows in thought. “Maybe something cuter? If you are keeping with the ‘short person’ theme, then maybe something like Munchkin?”

While Shirabu still wasn’t sure how he felt about the girl, he had to agree with Semi. The nickname ‘Little Bit’ was absolutely terrible and needed to be changed immediately. He scoffed. “What about Vertically Challenged?”

“Nugget perhaps?” Oohira suggested.

Goshiki gasped. “Sweet Pea!”

“What was wrong with Umeko? Or even Aki?” Kawanishi spoke up unexpectedly, though his face was still unchanged from its mostly neutral state.

“Pipsqueak?” Yamagata put his two cents in now that he had finished changing.

“Chibi? Small bean? Shortcake? Shortstop?” Tendou started rapid firing nicknames trying to find a suitable one. “Jellybean? Doll? Pint Size? Tater Tot?”

Semi zipped up his bag before he spoke. “Bite-Sized sounds really cute and it doesn’t sound too far out there to be a nickname either. But there are much cuter nicknames which have nothing to do with height, like Teacup.” Semi started feeling sorry for the girl with all the nicknames his teammates came up with. “Why not base it on a different physical trait other than her just being short.”

Ushijima thought in silence for what seemed like an eternity as he went through all his options and some of his own. “Ume.” He said it a few more times as if testing it on his tongue. “Hm, Ume sounds good.”

The rest of the team looked at each other then back at their captain. It was a unanimous decision. Ume was a far better nickname than all the other names they had come up with.

\----------

Umeko stayed seated on the bench as the boys went to change in the locker room. She wasn’t really sure if she should just leave and go back to her room or if she should wait for them to come out. Was there even etiquette for that or was it just up to the person?

“Umeko! You waited for us!” Tendou ran up to her and gave her a high five. “I was so sure you would have left by now.” he grinned rather surprised at her presence.

“I wasn’t really sure if I needed to stay or not. So, I just decided to stay for now, was I not supposed to wait?”

“Not at all. We appreciate it. We just weren’t expecting it.” Oohira walked to the side door and looked outside, even though it was only six in the evening the daylight was almost completely gone. The warm rays of the sun were replaced by the darkness of the night. “It got dark pretty early today.”

“Well that is to be expected considering the season.” Shirabu examined the purple and blue hues of the sky. He stepped out of the gym to be greeted with a slight chill. “Let’s go so we can make it to dinner on time.”

“Ume. It’s dark, I’ll walk you to the girls’ dorm.” Ushijima waited outside and turned to face Umeko.

It took a hot second before Umeko registered that Ushijima was talking to her. She blushed slightly at the nickname, thankfully the dim lighting managed to obscure the pink dusting on her cheeks. Even if Ushijima was offering to walk her home out of politeness that didn’t diminish the feeling in her chest in the slightest. She chalked it up to the gesture itself. Who wouldn’t be touched after hearing an offer like that?

“That’s a great idea! We can all walk together!” Goshiki beamed. It was safe to say that he didn’t get the mood at all.

Ushijima furrowed his eyebrows for barely a second before it became neutral again. For a split second he could have sworn he felt slight disappointment, but he wasn’t quite sure if he had just imagined it.

Shirabu’s face changed to one of utter displeasure. He had things he still needed to do and Shirabu really didn’t want to pull an all-nighter. He needed to finish his Biology class project then study the next unit of Math and make sure to finish the worksheet for Art History. Shirabu scoffed internally, _Why is art history even a class in the first place? It’s useless._ Just before Shirabu could politely refuse, the team had already come to a decision. “Isn’t it a little excessive for all of us to walk her back?”

Goshiki grinned from ear to ear innocently as he looked around to his teammates. “It’ll be team bonding!”

“O-oh, there is no need to walk me. The campus is pretty safe anyway. Besides, I'm not even part of the club so it won’t be considered ‘team bonding’.” Umeko gave them her best reassuring smile. “I do appreciate the gesture though.”

Goshiki’s eyes seemed to sparkle as he came up as close to Umeko as he could without touching her. “You are an honorary member then! Please? Tendou brought you! No one ever brings anyone because the coach is scary.”

Umeko backed up a little feeling a little awkward from the proximity. “U-uhm” She looked to the side. “Tendou only brought me to see the team play up close because I didn’t really know anything about volleyball.” _He also kind of strong-armed me into going._ But she wasn’t going to tell him that. Goshiki just looked so earnest. It wasn’t long before she caved to his pleading. “We can go altogether if it’s fine with everyone.

The group began to walk to the girls’ dorms at a relatively slow pace with varying levels of enthusiasm. There was everything from pure excitement to utter misery. Umeko shuddered a little from the cold air. She wasn’t really cold, but she wasn’t warm either. Her school blazer wasn’t made out of the thickest material. _It’s a short walk and I'm not that cold,_ she reasoned with herself. _It’s just slightly chilly, not enough to warrant pulling out a jacket._ Instead of focusing on the temperature Umeko nodded along to Goshiki’s spiel about volleyball. While she didn’t understand the technical terms, she could sort of guess their meaning with a little context.

The breeze ruffled Ushijima’s hair and prompted him to casually glance over at Umeko. _She is only wearing a blazer so she might be cold._ Ushijima considered giving her his tracksuit jacket to wear -it was the only warm thing at the time- but he was torn between just keeping it on. _She doesn’t really look cold._ Before Ushijima could make up his mind, the group had arrived at the dorms. It wasn’t a very long walk -perhaps only five minutes- but it felt far shorter than usual.

Most of the group hadn’t seen the girls’ dorm before so they weren’t sure what they were expecting. The outside seemed to be an identical copy to the boys’ dorm. The building looked like a huge box with an almost obscene number of windows. The white brick allowed for the purple accents to stand out around the door and the corners of the building. Like the rest of the school, the dorm looked very modern and professional. It was surrounded by a neat row of trees and shrubbery to balance out the abundance of buildings.

Umeko stopped walking and turned to face the group. “Thank you all for walking me back to the dorm. I really appreciate it.” She thanked them with a smile before the last of the sunlight drained away and the streetlights automatically turned on.

The team returned with a chorus of ‘no problems’ and ‘goodnights’ before they started to walk to the boys’ dorm. “See you tomorrow!” Goshiki waved energetically, completely forgetting that she was a third year and not officially part of the club. The chances of seeing each other again were slim to none.

“Bye, nighty night!”


	6. Rice

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> lunchtime with the boys

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Statistically, 6 out of 7 dwarfs are not Happy
> 
> Enjoy!

For the next few days, the routine was the same. Go to class, get dragged to the gym by Tendou, watch the team play, then walk home. Umeko and the coach would share a few scattered words with one another, enough to be considered small talk which was progress. It was a relief if she was being honest. She had gotten considerably closer to the team to the point where if they saw each other in the hallways they would wave and say ‘hi’. All except Shirabu that is. Umeko had made an attempt to be on positive terms with the boy but everything she tried failed to work. Granted her attempts were pretty pathetic but there was an attempt made at least.

Umeko walked into the club room and placed her bag down by the entrance. She yawned and made her way to her cubby. Her notebook was a little worse for wear as she placed it in. Umeko was supposed to sleep early last night but instead she decided to carve the entirety of the school gym on a soap bar. It was a damn good miniature, so it was worth every painstaking hour.

Umeko glanced at the empty unnamed cubby. _Looks like the unofficial member accepted the gifts._ She smiled. _I'm glad._ Umeko pulled out a handful randomly patterned origami paper and sat down at her desk. Her goal for the day was ten paper cranes. She furrowed her eyebrows as she began to fold.

“G’mornin’, Akiyama.”

“Good morning, Sakuma” Umeko looked up for a brief second.

Sakuma raised an eyebrow upon seeing her notebook. “Again?”

“Again. Anyway, how is the table tennis club doing?”

Sakuma ruffled his blonde hair and gave a thumbs up. “They should be back on their feet by tomorrow.” He went to his cubby and pulled out an individual pack of Oreos and a stack of blue origami paper. “After that it’s just a matter of slowly disappearing, the usual.”

Umeko nodded as she looked back down to her half-folded paper and continued. “That’s good.” She finished folding then sighed. She had made a paper duck, not a crane. “I hate this.”

Sakuma took his seat adjacent to her at the table and began to fold. “I really don’t understand how you still struggle making a crane even with the instructions.” He finished his first crane of the day and placed it to the side of his table. “You can make everything else without even thinking about it.”

“And that’s precisely why I speculated it to be a curse.” A slender girl with glasses walked in and shut the door behind her. “Akiyama clearly needs help from the divine.” She pushed one of her braids over her shoulder as she pulled out plain gridded paper.

“G’mornin to you too, Hashimoto.” Sakuma gave her a lazy wave before he went back to folding.

Umeko mumbled a quiet ‘Good morning’ but she didn’t look up from her third attempt of a crane. Her second attempt of a crane had turned into a walrus.

Hashimoto raised an eyebrow unamused at both her clubmates, granted she knew she should be expecting this kind of response, but after three years she would like an enthusiastic greeting by both of her clubmates. “Am I right to assume that you have already finished the intervention?” Hashimoto switched her glasses then began to fold with practiced precision.

“Who do you think I am? Of course.” Sakuma scoffed as he finished his sixth crane.

Hashimoto rolled her eyes. “Their ego stroking has been working at full strength it seems.”

\-----------

“Wakatoshi! That’s really cool, did you make that?” Tendou pointed at the small origami lion lounging on Ushijima’s desk. Tendou leaned in close to inspect the item.

“No, I got it from a friend.”

Tendou’s eyes widened in shock. “Which friend?”

Ushijima waited for a second before he answered. “An important friend.” He smiled softly, picked up his bag and began the walk to the main building with Tendou beside him. “Time to go.” Ushijima ended the conversation before Tendou could ask anything else. Though at this point Tendou had a pretty good guess on who the ‘important friend’ was.

\--------

It had taken a while before Sakuma and Hashimoto stopped arguing. It’s not that the pair hated each other but it’s more they refused to understand the other’s way of thinking. It also didn’t help that they both specialized in very different fields. While Sakuma excelled in almost any sport, Hashimoto was more oriented in book smarts than anything. Umeko filled in the gap and covered all of the more creative arts; from theater to sculpting and everything else in between.

“So, the volleyball club. I see you’ve been joining them a lot as of late.” The three never bothered with each other’s personal activities so it was a surprise when Hashimoto asked. “You’ve never been one for sports. What sparked the change of heart?”

Sakuma gasped and slammed his hands on the table. “Sports are my territory!” He wasn’t angry in the slightest, he was just loud.

“I'm not helping them out or anything, I just have a friend who brought me there.” Umeko panicked slightly as her clubmate got more and more riled up. He was the kind of guy who would give one hundred percent or nothing at all. If it had something to do with sports, more often than not, Sukuma would be on the one hundred percent side.

“If you aren’t helping then you have a crush perhaps?” Hashimoto pushed up her glasses and continued to fold more cranes. She was so matter of fact on the topic you would think it was the verified truth rather than speculation.

Immediately Ushijima came to Umeko’s mind. “That’s not it! I-I don’t like him in that way.” Umeko fumbled with her words and a pink hue appeared on her cheeks. “Just because I think someone is absolutely adorable and cool and awkwardly sweet doesn’t mean I like them and want to…d-date them...” She looked back down at her work and sighed as her crane had somehow turned into a paper heart.

Sakuma and Hashimoto looked at each other then back to the cranes they were folding. There was no need to pry any further, they both didn’t believe what Umeko claimed. The group wasn’t considered close enough to be friends but rather more like friendly clubmates. They didn’t need to know all the details of each other’s lives.

****

****

**_-_ ** **\----DURING LUNCH BREAK-----**

“Umeko, Umeko!” Tendou practically dashed to her seat once class was dismissed, “You should eat lunch with us!” he put his hands together and made a single clapping sound. If Tendou remembered correctly Umeko would spend her school lunches alone somewhere and now that they were friends, he couldn’t just let that continue.

“Is that ok with everyone though? I don’t want to be a bother.”

Tendou had noticed that over the past few days, Umeko had become more comfortable with the team and didn’t flat out refuse his offers to go to spend time with everyone. “You won’t be a bother at all!” He chirped happily.

“Then if it’s alright.” Umeko fidgeted slightly before Tendou fist bumped the air in elation. It’s safe to say he was pleased with the outcome. The pair began to walk through the halls and to the cafeteria. As expected, it was packed. They had left the classroom a little later than usual, so the food line was already long and most – if not all- tables were occupied.

“Tendou! Umeko! Over here!” Goshiki stood up from his chair and flagged the pair over to the table. It was a six-person table and there were three seats open, the other three were occupied by Oohira, Ushijima and Goshiki himself. “We have space” His eyes sparkled as he met eyes with the pair.

“Whoo~ nice” Tendou shot double finger guns in Goshiki’s direction in praise. “You did stupendous!”

Goshiki practically vibrated in excitement and joy as he could barely contain his emotions. Oohira gestured to all three of the empty spaces. “You can choose any of those chairs.”

Umeko decided to take her spot between Ushijima and Goshiki.

\------

It had taken both Tendou and Umeko around ten minutes to return to the table with their food. Umeko had opted for Japanese curry. If she had received the meal in the restaurant, she would be a bit disappointed, but it was one of her favorite school meal sets. It was a huge improvement to what her middle school served.

****

****

**_-_ ** **\----TWENTY MINUTES LATER-----**

“How many tickles does it take to make an octopus laugh?” Tendou gave the table a shit eating grin as he finished the rest of his joke. “Ten-tickles!”

Umeko tried to hold back a laugh, she really did. Umeko didn’t want to endorse the use of amazingly bad jokes at the table. Tendou noticed her dilemma and wiggled his eyebrows. It wasn’t long before Umeko found herself laughing alongside Tendou. As embarrassing as it was, it was worth it. Bad jokes and puns were something she enjoyed almost too much.

Ushijima seemed not to get the joke before it was explained to him. “Ah, I see. That makes more sense now.” He nodded and ate the last spoonful of his meal. In the corner of his eye he watched as Umeko continued to chuckle at a variety of jokes, the mirth surrounding her was infectious as he too found himself smiling.

Once she had calmed herself Umeko turned to face Ushijima. “Ushijima, you have food right here, on the left.” she pointed to the corner of her mouth to show him where the grain of rice was on his face. Ushijima touched the corner of his mouth to try to get the grain off him. “N-no, the other left, your left.”

Once more Ushijima tried to brush away the food only to narrowly miss the mark.

Umeko waved her hand in a ‘come closer to me’ gesture. Since he was sitting right beside her, he needed to turn his face and bend down just a little so Umeko could reach. Carefully she sat up and scooted a little closer to him so she could reach his face comfortably. “Hold on a second.” She reached her hand up and brushed the grain of rice off his face. “There we go.”

Ushijima sat upright again and gave Umeko a soft smile. “Thank you.”


	7. Who’s the Artist?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Umeko tries to befriend Shirabu  
> Art history homework is hard D:

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hippopotomonstrosesquippedaliophobia is one of the longest words in the dictionary. It means - A fear of long words
> 
> Happy reading!

Umeko entered the library and weaved through the shelves looking for the textbook she needed to read.

“Excuse me, do you know where to find the non-fiction section?” A first-year student asked Umeko. The girl looked very confused and judging by her look of desperation she wasn’t able to find anyone at the help desk.

“Oh! Its right over there” Umeko pointed to the correct direction and continued to search for the book she was looking for. It wasn’t long before Umeko heard another voice from behind her.

“I was wondering if you knew where this particular book was shelved.”

Umeko turned around, took the book from the student and scanned over it before she returned it back to him. “It’s listed right here that it belongs back in the Biography section.”

“Oh, thanks!” The student waved then ran off to return the book.

This time Umeko sighed and returned back to her task. She really needed to find the textbook, but for some reason it wasn’t where she last saw it. “Perhaps someone checked it out?” She mumbled to herself.

“Do you know where I can find adventure books?”

Umeko furrowed her eyebrows confused then turned to the person who asked the question. “It’s in the Young Adult’s section.”

“Where?”

Umeko pointed in the general area of the section. “It’s all the way over there if I remember correctly.”

The student raised an eyebrow. “Can you bring me there?”

Umeko at this point, really, really didn’t want to bring him there. Surely there was someone at the help desk by now. Unfortunately, she felt bad if she were to refuse so Umeko begrudgingly agreed with a strained smile. “Alright.”

\--------

It was a long ten minutes before Umeko was able to sit alone with a textbook open. She claimed to be ‘studying’ but in reality, she just had the book open while she thought about the events of the day. Umeko was feeling unusually bold during lunch and she wasn’t sure how she felt about it _. It’s probably because you are comfortable around them now_ , the little voice in her head chided in a singsong tone. She closed her textbook as her thoughts began to wander. There was no point in pretending to study in the library when she could be doing more productive things like making a clay vase in the art classroom.

Just before she exited the building, she noticed Shirabu sitting at the next table looking incredibly frustrated. Umeko moved a little closer to see what he was upset over. _Oh._

“What are you doing?” Shirabu noticed Umeko and glared in her direction. “Don’t you have better things to do other than creepily stand there?”

Usually Umeko would apologize then leave but she decided that she wanted to be friends with the irritable student. It also helped that she was feeling a little gutsy. “I-uhm. For question five the answer is Juan Gris. He followed the Cubism art genre.”

“Are you good at Art History?” He made a disgusted face. “Who’s even good at that class.”

Umeko nodded, “I took it last year and I really enjoyed it.”

Shirabu scowled at his homework then back at her. He could ask her for help, but that would mean asking someone he didn’t like all too much for help. But if he did ask for assistance, he would finish his homework and maybe, just maybe understand the subject a little better. There was a moment of awkward silence as he weighed the pros and cons in his head. Shirabu swallowed his pride with an audible sigh. “Can you help me with my homework please?” His words were mumbled but Umeko heard them loud and clear.

Umeko beamed as she sat herself down on the seat opposite him. “I've love to!” she chirped with more enthusiasm than necessary.

“Here.” Shirabu slid the worksheet over to Umeko for her to read over. While he could understand most subjects with relative ease, he always had problems with Art History. In fact, he was openly salty about the class being mandatory.

Umeko scanned over the homework. It was printed back to back, with the first page about more well-known artists and the other side about the more obscure artists. “So, for the first page there is a really easy way to remember popular artists. It’s kind of silly but it works. For me at least. I'm not really sure about you or other people.” Umeko pulled out her phone and showed him a collection of photos of paintings.

“So basically, if everyone -including the women- look like Putin, then it’s Van Eyck” She swiped to the next photo. “If it looks like something you would see on an acid trip, it’s Dali.” Umeko went to the next picture, “Rubens likes to paint everyone with um, really big butts. Y-yeah. So anyway, if everyone looks like hobos illuminated by only a dim streetlight, its Rembrandt. O-or um something like that.”

At this point Shirabu was a mix between impressed and appalled. Yes, the descriptions seemed very accurate but the descriptions themselves were the problem. Not the accuracy. Regardless, he took down notes as she showed him each photo and how to remember the artist.

“Bosch really likes to put lots of little people in his paintings but also really like to have a lot of crazy things in them.” Umeko swiped yet again. “If everyone has some sort of body malfunction, it’s Picasso. If everyone is beautiful, naked and stacked it’s Michelangelo. But I mean, like don’t quote me on that.”

Shirabu almost choked at that description, she wasn’t wrong but at the same time she could at least use some delicacy in her word choice.

Umeko pointed to the pictures that were included in the homework. “Happy party time and dappled light is Renoir. Unhappy party time and dabbled light is Manet.” Umeko looked up at Shirabu. “Got it? Well, only if you want to.”

He nodded. “Got it.” At this point he was a little irked at her disclaimers at the end, but he could ignore them for the sake of answers.

Umeko flipped over the paper, “This side is unfortunately more difficult. The more obscure artists don’t have an easy way to remember them so it’s mostly memorization. I can give you the answers and how to recognize them. Uh, I mean at least I think so.”

She pointed to the photo of the woman. “This here is Angelica Kauffmann; she was born in 1741 and died in 1807. She was part of the early Neoclassical movement.”

Shirabu was surprised that Umeko was able to tell who the artist was with just how terrible a photo was printed on his paper. “What was she known for?”

Umeko tapped her chin a few times in thought. “Kauffmann was known for her decorative wall paintings.” She pursed her lips then quickly backed up. “A-at least I'm pretty sure. You don’t have to use those answers if you don’t uh, yeah…” She quickly deflated on the spot as her previous confidence crumbled under Shirabu’s scrutiny. 

Shirabu was grateful for her help but every single time after Umeko spoke she seemed to curl into herself and that irritated him. He finally pinpointed what he didn’t like about her. She was far too timid. Shirabu stood up and leaned forward. “Listen. I'm usually very respectful to my upperclassmen. But you don’t feel like one at all. In fact, your entire wishy-washy attitude is far too weak.” He huffed. “So, listen up. In repayment for helping me with my homework I will teach you how to properly be confident because I can’t stand how much of a pushover you are. I saw you being roped into assisting people when it wasn’t your job and you had your own things to do.”

“T-they needed help,” Umeko protested.

“There is a help desk for that, people were just too lazy to go there.” Shirabu crossed his arms over his chest. “We don’t have practice afterschool today so meet me outside the gym.”

****

****

**_-_ ** **\----OUTSIDE THE GYM-----**

The end of the day came far too quickly for Umeko’s liking. She sat on the gym steps and waited. After what felt like an eternity -but was probably only a few minutes- Shirabu appeared. “Let’s go.”

Umeko immediately got to her feet. “Go where?”

“Do you want to learn right here in front of everyone?” Shirabu raised an eyebrow then began walking. He already knew what her answer would be. It didn’t take very long before the pair found themselves at a more secluded area on the campus. Umeko recognized it to be the same area where she had her lunch. She could see the stairs from where the pair were standing under a tree. _I didn’t know other people came here. Well, I guess that’s normal that other people would know about this place too._

“Alright. First things first. Your posture. I want your shoulders back and chest out.”

Umeko followed his instructions and stood up straighter.

“Good, from now on walk and stand like this.” Shirabu circled her form with a nod. “Show me your power pose.”


	8. Do What I Would Do

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shirabu teaches Umeko how to be like him

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Why don't you ever see hippos hiding in trees?   
> Because they are really good at it.
> 
> Enjoy!

Umeko awkwardly attempted a power pose she had drawn before. “U-um, I don’t…”

Shirabu sighed. “It doesn’t need to be a stereotypical pose like all the ones you see. Your power pose will be different from other people’s. Stand in a way that makes you feel strong.”

“But I don’t feel strong.” She whimpered, already losing hope.

Shirabu thought for a moment with his eyes closed then reopened them. “Tilt your head up slightly and look straight ahead. Now cross your arms over your chest.” He instructed as Umeko’s image started to come together. “Move your hips to the side slightly and put more of your weight on that leg.”

Umeko did as told and surprisingly found herself easily able to slip into that position. Her head slightly cocked back was a nice touch that added a more prideful air around her.

“Make the face that you would make if someone were to spill something on your art on purpose.” Shirabu was surprised with how much of an expression change he prompted. Her face was pure and utter loathing. Her blue eyes that were once filled with tenderness and uncertainty were replaced with bitterness and disgust. Simply put, she looked like she was seeing the scum of the earth. “Great! Now just don’t use that face on me.” Shirabu chirped pleased with himself.

“Alright.” She nodded then her face became softer again.

“To match that face, I want your voice to be sharp, perhaps stern will work better. Project your voice without shouting. You want your words to cut through their soul. No mumbling allowed. Got it?”

“O-ok”

“Excuse me?”

Umeko hastily got into her ‘power pose’ and corrected herself. “Got it! No mumbling and be certain in my words.” She tried to channel her inner ‘theater kid’ and pull out as much of herself as she could. She wanted to look like she had an unassailable confidence. Umeko wanted all her movements to say that she was the greatest person who ever walked the earth and that everyone else was lucky to bask in her presence.

Shirabu circled her once more, he was proud of the outcome. It was a startling difference from the doormat Umeko was before. “If you are ever roped into doing something you don’t want to and are unsure of what to say, ask yourself, ‘what would Shirabu do?’ and if you don’t know, then pretend like the person you are talking to is the person who ruined your art.”

Umeko nodded and formed mental post-it notes to remember.

Shirabu continued. “Now that you have this knowledge, let’s re-go over what happened in the library. Pretend I was one of the kids who needed help. I ask you what the book I'm holding is classified as, but you are busy, what would you say to me?”

Umeko clicked her tongue and scowled at Shirabu. “The classification is written on the spine of the book if you took a moment to read it you would know.”

Shirabu nodded. “Good, good.” He figured that even through the responses were a little extreme, they would probably mellow out with her soft-spoken nature.

After a few more scenarios, Shirabu was finally satisfied. Hopefully she would take what she learned to heart.

**_-_ ** **\----THE NEXT DAY-----**

Umeko hummed as she folded her cranes. She was in a particularly good mood that morning and decided to go to the club room earlier than usual.

“G’mornin Akiyama!” Sakuma burst through the door looking just as energetic as Umeko felt. “Today is a great day don’t ‘cha agree?” He put his hands on his hips and stood proudly. “The golf club has won the qualifiers so they can enter the competition for nationals! All my hard work has paid off! And even better, soon all the sport clubs will be having their Interhigh tournaments.” Sakuma did a little happy dance before he grabbed a stack of blue paper. “I’m so excited you have no idea.”

Unlike her other two clubmates, Hashimoto walked in feeling like the living dead. “I swear, if you don’t quiet down right now, I will take all your snacks away and eat them right in front of you.” She growled. It was uncommon for Hashimoto to have a rough night but when she did, she was a force to be reckoned with.

“You wouldn’t dare.” Sakuma narrowed his eyes at her ready to square off. “You can go eat your caviar or whatever the heck rich people eat and leave my snacks alone.”

Umeko sighed and prayed for the safety of Sakuma’s future. _Why are they like this_? She groaned internally. Every time the two were in the same room they always had to argue at one point. It didn’t matter what time of the day it was, or who else was in the room, they seemed to be unable to help it. At times it was amusing but considering Hashimoto’s current mood it was not a good time to provoke her. A sudden thought came to mind. _It’d be interesting to see if Shirabu’s crash course paid off._

“Hashimoto. Sakuma.” Umeko’s voice was stern as she looked up from her latest creation. Her gaze didn’t waver as she stared them both down. “Both of you stop arguing. I don’t care who started it but you both need to sit down before you ruin everyone’s mood. Got it?” Umeko didn’t look away as she watched the stunned pair slowly situate themselves on their seats. “Great!” She chirped once she dropped her glare. Umeko began to fold once more pleased at the outcome of her actions.

Hashimoto and Sakuma began to also fold. Despite looking like they were focused, half their thoughts were elsewhere. More specifically at what just happened. Umeko. Little baby Umeko basically told them to shut up. In the entire three years of knowing each other they had never seen her aggressive. Granted it wasn’t really all that bad, but when you paired it with someone like Umeko, it was like the world was ending.

\-------

Ushijima looked up at the grey sky. He figured it was going to rain soon so he quickly went back to his room to pack an umbrella. He began to walk side by side with Tendou on their way to school. “Tendou.”

“Yeah?” Tendou tilted his head with a grin on his face.

“How do you feel about Ume?”

Tendou furrowed his eyebrows but kept his mouth smiling. It was a rather funny expression on the red-haired student. “Hmm” Tendou wasn’t sure what brought on the unusual question, but he answered it without hesitation. “Umeko is nice. She reminds me of a small animal. Very tiny.” Tendou waved his fingers a little. “She gives you a mix of fuzzy feels and ‘must protect baby’ feels.”

“I see.” Ushijima’s words were flat, but his eyes looked as if they were contemplating something.

Tendou bumped Ushijima’s shoulder with his own. “What about you~?”

“She makes me feel strange.” Ushijima frowned ever so slightly that you could miss it. “Ume sometimes makes me have this squeezing feeling in my chest, but it doesn’t hurt. It’s just uncomfortable and warm. But other times when I see her, I get this churning feeling in my gut which is frustrating. I don’t understand how sometimes it feels unpleasant to leave her, it’s the same feeling I get when I fail a serve.” Ushijima rubbed his forehead. “It’s vexing.”

“Oho~? Interesting” Tendou’s grin only grew wider as he listened to his friend, from what Ushijima had just told him there was progress. Sure, the feelings were still a little jumbled and underdeveloped, but they were there. They just needed a little more time. Tendou hadn’t intervened all that much in the past few weeks but he was sure that his wingman abilities were working. Perhaps he could invite Umeko to watch the interhigh tournament that was coming up. 

****

****

**_-_ ** **\----MORNING BREAK-----**

Umeko opened her shoe locker and a folded note card was sitting inside. She took out the paper and opened it slowly.

**_Dear, Akiyama Umeko._ **

**_Please meet me by the blossom tree during morning break._ **

**_I have something I need to say._ **

**_Love, Your Secret Admirer._ **

Umeko stood still for a moment before she slipped the paper in her pocket. She had no idea who the person could be, and she didn’t particularly want to meet whoever it was, but she couldn’t just ignore the message. That would be a mockery of the courage it took to even put the letter in her locker in the first place. _I guess I’ll go. But first things first_ , Umeko turned to the person closest to her. “Excuse me! Do you know where the blossom tree is?”

“By the flowerbeds. The one where the red tulips grow.”

“Thank you!” Umeko beamed and thanked the person for their help before she ran off. Fortunately, she knew where the flowerbed was located but if she wanted to make it to the person and still have time to eat, she would need to be quick.

\------

"Ah, you made it!” An unknown boy stood under the tree and looked up towards Umeko. “I-I was worried you wouldn’t actually come.”

Once Umeko caught her breath she too was surprised that there was actually someone standing there. If she was being totally honest with herself, she was expecting it to be a joke or something. The wind blew and rustled through the leaves. It was still too early for the blossoms to even come close to blooming.

The boy took a deep breath before he stood firm and spoke. “Akiyama! I really like you! I've liked you since the start of this year. No wait. I love you!” He kept his face determined as he confessed. “I watched you a lot out of curiosity. I think you are really cute, a-and when I first saw you by the stairs, I thought that you were kinda lonely. And since you have no friends and stuff, I think I’d be a great boyfriend and best friend. Plus, I love you because you are really cute.”

Umeko stood awkwardly listening to the boy speak. She wasn’t really sure what to say to that confession. She was flattered but somehow she felt a few stings from the whole ‘no friends’ comment.

“So, are you going to be my girlfriend?”

There was a long silence where neither student said anything. Umeko had no idea who this guy was, she had never spoken to him nor even seen him. She honestly wanted to just run away to the hills. She really didn’t want to date him. He was giving some really odd vibes that made Umeko just a little more wary of the kid. She thought back to her crash course. Umeko realized that running away wasn’t an option so instead she thought of something else. _What would Shirabu do? What would Shirabu say?_ It didn’t take very long before she had her answer.

She tried to put as much conviction in her words as she could. “No.” Umeko crossed her arms and raised an eyebrow. “Who are you?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Imagine saying hello to a dog in a normal conversational voice.


	9. Umbrellas and Blue Skies

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ushijima and Umeko go out in the rain

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Did you hear about the monkeys who shared an amazon account?   
> They were prime-mates
> 
> Happy reading!

“But I love you.” He took a step closer to Umeko, his voice a little shaky. “I’ve watched you sit by the staircase and you are so lovely, so I know you don’t actually mean that, right? That would really hurt my feelings.”

Perhaps she shouldn’t have rejected him in such a blunt manner, but she really, really didn’t want to be an item with this guy. Despite him taking a step closer Umeko didn’t budge, instead she held her head high and narrowed her eyes. She was going to stand by what she said.

“Wowwwww”

Both Umeko and the unknown boy turned to the voice. It was Tendou. “I must be interrupting something aren’t I?” He laughed lightly yet his facial expression didn’t match. Tendou hummed and slowly moved beside Umeko. “Actually, I think you’re done here.” Tendou’s voice hitched at the end making his threat just a tad bit creepier.

The boy didn’t say anything more before he backed away, he didn’t want to deal with the creepy redhead. Once the boy was out of sight Umeko relaxed and sighed out of relief. It was safe to say that the ‘event’ had ended smoothly with the help of Tendou.

Tendou’s smirk grew even wider before he began to walk away. “I saw the whoooooole thing~”

\-----

The overcast sky seemed to darken as the remainder of the morning classes went by smoothly. If the weather continued it would probably rain by the afternoon.

****

**_-_ ** **\----LATER THAT DAY-----**

“Shirabu, what have you been teaching her?!” Semi pulled Shirabu to sit next to him in the cafeteria. Whenever the team ate together it was bound to be a little chaotic but despite this, Umeko had managed to stun the entire table.

“What have I been teaching who?” Shirabu was genuinely confused for a moment. He had no idea what Semi was talking about, that was until he noticed Umeko looking rather embarrassed and Tendou loudly recounting a story with exaggerated gestures. “Ohhh, heh.”

Semi groaned at Shirabu’s reaction. “You aren’t even going to try to hide that you did it?”

“Not at all.” Shirabu shuffled in his chair to sit comfortably in it, if he guessed right Tendou was probably telling the group about something that Umeko did.

“…And then this other kid seemed super into her.” Tendou leaned forward. “He was declaring his love for Umeko. Of course, she turned him down, which I'm very proud of. I was almost scared she was going to say yes.” He chuckled through his grin. “I expected her to turn him down gently, but instead she goes on and drops a hard ‘no’ followed by her asking who he was. Umeko was giving off some intense Shirabu vibes with how hard that rejection was.”

Umeko reddened even more. “I-I didn’t know what to say.” She pouted and puffed up one cheek. “I didn’t want to go out with him at all. I really had no idea who he was.” She shuffled in her seat contemplating something that really bothered her. “D-do I really look that lonely?” Trivial as it was, she wanted to know.

The noise at the table died down, “Not anymore you don’t.” Ushijima’s expression didn’t change but everyone knew it was a heartfelt response. “You have us now.”

\--------

Earlier in the day there was a blue sky that peeked out through the clouds but now in the afternoon there was no sky, only a rough blanket of mottled grey to block out the sun. The usual virescently hues of the surroundings were muted and dull. The air became damp as the rain started to fall slowly.

The rest of the group had left first and abandoned Ushijima and Umeko at the cafeteria. The pair stood side by side at the entrance. Ushijima heard the notification from his phone and went to read the text

**_Tendou:_ ** _IF YOU ARE STILL WITH HER - ASK IF UMEKO HAS AN UMBRELLA_

Ushijima turned to Umeko, “Tendou wants to know if you have an umbrella.”

“No? I’m probably just going to run to my dorm room to get mine. I still need to visit the art store.”

“I see, I’ll tell Tendou.”

**_Ushijima:_ ** _She doesn’t have an umbrella._

Ushijima opened his umbrella; it was a simple white umbrella with a single delicate cherry blossom branch on the outside. In her whole life Umeko never would have guessed that she would call an umbrella elegant, but here she was, admiring its design.

Ushijima walked forward a few steps before he stopped. “Are you not coming?”

“Coming where?” Umeko furrowed her eyebrows in confusion.

“You said you needed to go to the art store. We can go straight there…together.” His invitation was a little clumsy, but his point was made. He wasn’t quite sure what brought about this spur of the moment offer but somehow it took a lot more resolve to ask her than he thought it would.

A pink hue formed on Umeko’s cheeks as she quickly ran up to him and under his umbrella. “I’d love to go with you” she noted the soft smile Ushijima sent her way and returned his with one of her own. Her heart trembled as the pair began to walk. Upon the umbrella they could hear the chaotic drops and pattering of the rain. There was a sense of serenity that felt like they were in an old movie, with each step a small splash rewarded the action.

They walked in a comfortable silence as they pressed together to stay under the umbrella. Ushijima slowed slightly to match Umeko’s pace, there was no need for either of the pair to talk, the quiet between them was never awkward. In place of words the pair listened to the soothing drumming of raindrops hitting the umbrella.

The more time Umeko spent around Ushijima the more details she noticed about him. His words were blunt and sometimes a little clumsy but there was no malice in them. Despite looking intimidating he was actually surprisingly gentle and kind.

The walk to the store seemed so much faster than every other time she had walked alone. The store was wedged between two taller buildings. The sign was old, and some letters had almost become illegible in the fading ink. Once the pair entered the store Ushijima closed the umbrella that released a plume of small droplets. Various different styles of artwork were proudly displayed on the walls leaving barely any space for anything else.

Ushijima looked around and took in the surroundings. He had never been in a building decorated quite so boldly before. “What are you looking for?”

Umeko wandered through the aisles with Ushijima following close behind. “I need a sketchbook and a couple paints. There is this one brand I really like, it’s a little smaller than a normal sketchbook but it has a really nice thread bound spine.” She picked up a few paintbrushes and an armful of glow in the dark paint before turning around to face her companion. Umeko giggled quietly, “The umbrella is dripping. It might be best to wait by the entrance.”

“Ah, that’s true.” Ushijima hastily walked back to the entrance and looked up at the gradually clearing sky. Thoughts ran through his head some familiar and others not. _The interhigh is coming up soon._ It was his last year at Shiratorizawa. After graduating, his plan was to continue playing as a professional player. He wanted to pursue his passion. It was something he loved and something he was good at.

\-------

Umeko hummed as she shuffled through the sketchbooks before she found what she was looking for. Beside the book was the section for watercolor pens, she had always thought watercolor pens were a cool concept, but she was never able to master using them. Every time Umeko tried, she would get frustrated at the outcome. Though to be fair that was back when she was in early middle school, so perhaps she could give them another chance. Umeko picked up a large pack of watercolor pens and went to the cashier to pay. She didn’t need to spend extra time in the store lest she end up spending too much money.

Once everything was paid for, Umeko began to make her way to the entrance. From what she could hear the rain had stopped. She was about to call out Ushijima’s name but paused before she could make a sound.

Rays of sun escaped through the grey clouds and illuminated where the light touched. It was like a landscape from a storybook. The greying clouds, the dapples of light that kissed his skin and dewy puddles left by the rain surrounded Ushijima’s figure.

Even from afar Umeko could see the unshakeable conviction Ushijima had in the way he stood, the weight of his dreams on his shoulders. She slowly walked closer, not making a sound. She squeezed her new sketchbook to her chest. Umeko wanted to know more.

Without even thinking she spoke. “Can I draw you?”

Ushijima’s eyes met with Umeko’s.

There were many things about Ushijima that intrigued her. But most of all, Umeko was pulled in by the undeniable drive in his eyes.


	10. Time is a Social Construct

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shirabu and Umeko have some bonding time

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What kind of cookies make you rich?  
> Fortune cookies!
> 
> Happy Reading~

“One touch!” Kawanishi shouted as his hands skimmed the side of the ball.

Umeko tapped the pencil to her lips a few times before she finally looked up from her drawing.

“Ushijima!” Shirabu set the ball up in the air and as soon as the ball reached its peak Ushijima slammed down as hard as he could with his left hand.

“Winner! Blue team!”

Umeko smiled then looked back down to finish off the final pieces of her artwork. She had drawn Ushijima in a spiking position. It was just a sketch and there was no real detail except for in the face. Out of all the art styles her favorite was realism and stills. She figured that since she was watching an active sport, she would spend her time trying to perfect dynamic poses. Umeko liked to think it was going well but the problem was that she only got considerably better at volleyball poses. She groaned and closed her sketch book. _Next time._

\-----

Shirabu was walking up to Umeko but paused when he saw a sheet of paper slip out of her notebook. “Umeko, you dropped something.” Shirabu picked up the paper and scanned over its contents, it seemed like an old news article.

**_‘Time travelling is real! Aliens? I think not!’_ **

Shirabu froze as he read the contents. “Uh…”

“Shirabu!?” Umeko hastily ran back to him and swiped the paper out of his hands and back into her sketchbook. “D-did you see?” Umeko looked up at Shirabu, the tips of her ears bright red.

“Well…Yes” He looked away from her not knowing how to fully respond. Usually he wouldn’t have any issues coming up with anything to say but this time he was rendered speechless, not even a witty remark came to mind. He never expected an interest like time travel. People are free to like and believe in what they want but he didn’t peg Umeko for the ‘time traveler’ type.

Umeko sighed and held onto Shirabu’s arm. “Since you can’t unsee it I might as well show you it all. Let’s go.” She began to walk pulling a rather unwilling Shirabu along with her. Before she exited the gym, she waved the rest of the team goodbye. “Shirabu and I have something we need to get to, so we’ll be leaving first! Bye bye!”

“Wait what, no. Where are we going?” Shirabu tried to wriggle out of Umeko’s grasp but to no avail. She was surprisingly stronger than he gave her credit for.

“My dorm room.” Umeko refused to let go and strong armed him along -much like Tendou had before. “Visiting hours are still open so it’s alright for you to be in the girls’ dorm.”

“Umeko, I won’t tell anyone anything, so you really don’t have to show me.” Shirabu was grasping at the straws in a desperate attempt to talk her out of showing him.

“B-but Shirabu…I want to show my best friend.” She gave him her best puppy dog eyes as she laid it on thick. “I thought that out of everyone, I could show you this because you are my mentor and my friend.” She batted her eyelashes pleadingly.

\-------

“Whewwww that was unusual” Tendou clapped his hands a couple times before he turned to Semi. “Don’t you agree, Semi Semi?”

“And here I thought he only studied.” Semi was pleasantly surprised by the sudden turn of events. It was good that Shirabu was getting out there.

\------

Eventually Shirabu stopped struggling and went along with her antics. He was led into her room rather unceremoniously and he heard the door shut behind them. Shirabu wasn’t sure what he was expecting when he was brought in but when he scanned the area it seemed very... like her.

Her room was like a wonderland for artistic driven recluses. The walls were covered in a variety of her different artworks. A comforter was pulled over the bed, unmade resulting in varying shapes and lumps that were weighed down by her laptop. The desk sat against the wall in the center of the room littered with a wide array of art supplies and a photo depicting a younger, smaller Umeko and two other children of the same age beside her. The shelf that was pushed against the wall was filled with books and even a few handmade sculptures.

While her side of the room was clustered and colorful, the other side of the room seemed plain and empty in comparison. “Where’s your roommate?”

“Ah, since moving here I haven’t had a roommate. Not sure why, but I'm definitely not complaining though.” Umeko sat Shirabu down on the extra desk chair then pulled out a thick book that was definitely close to falling apart. 

“So, Shirabu. What do you know about time travel?” Umeko opened the book and pulled out a few more clippings.

“That it doesn’t exist.” Shirabu deadpanned without hesitation.

Umeko tied her hair up in a short ponytail. “That’s where you could actually be wrong. What if it is possible? What if people have done it before? First off, what really is time?” Umeko paused for dramatic effect. “People think of time as a constant. However, physicist Albert Einstein showed that time is an illusion; it is relative. To Einstein, time is the fourth dimension. Space is described as a three-dimensional arena, which provides a traveler with coordinates — such as length, width and height. Time provides another coordinate direction, although conventionally, it only moves forward. Of course, there are other theories on how time travel could work so this is just the surface of possibilities.”

Shirabu looked at her like she was batshit crazy. “But even still, there is no proof of time travel.” Shirabu leaned back in the chair. There was no way he was going to buy into the crazy spouting of a time travel enthusiast. “That would just be impossible.”

“No no, I don’t believe in crazy impossible things like aliens. Time travel on the other hand is plausible and there has been some evidence of it!” Umeko held up the two newspaper clippings, one from 1833 and one from 1952. Both of the clippings had a circle around a man dressed in a suit. “Look, this guy. They are clearly the same person. They look completely and utterly identical but if you look at the dates in these papers there is no way this dude could look like he hadn’t aged even a year.”

Umeko flipped through the pages of the book and pulled out another newspaper article from a little over fifteen years ago. “You may think, oh they could just be descendants. But no! In this new article it shows the same person wearing the exact same ugly style of suit. There is no way that almost two hundred years have passed and the bloodline looks exactly like the same and has the exact same taste in clothing.” Her ponytail bobbed up and down as she spoke without reservation.

“I don’t know, that’s not really enough to convince me that this entire time travelling thing isn’t completely bogus.” Shirabu shrugged, “Sure, the guy in the photo looks like the same guy, but that is just in incredible amount of coincidences. What if it was immortality?” he challenged.

Umeko’s eyes sparkled with enthusiasm. “Don’t worry, there’s more.” While Shirabu did shoot down the idea of time travel he humored her ideas and theories without completely believing she was off her rocker. “I’ll show you.”

**_-_ ** **\----THE NEXT DAY-----**

Umeko yawned and placed her stuff into her clubroom cubby and pulled out a stack of colorful patterned paper.

By the time Umeko was finished explaining the time travel theories to Shirabu it was already close to dinner time, she didn’t get any sleep that night since she had become so engrossed in finding even more proof to back up her claims so she could show Shirabu that it was time travel and not immortality.

Umeko took her place in her seat and began to fold. Five papers in, she began to nod off. “Maybe I should just rest my eyes a little.” She murmured. Umeko set an alarm on her phone. Knowing herself, at one point she was probably going to fall asleep. There weren’t any club activities today so Umeko couldn’t rely on Hashimoto or Sakuma to wake her up.

Umeko had successfully made five paper cranes out of nine so that wasn’t too shabby. The club room door opened, and she heard someone walk in. She didn’t need to look up because from the silence, she could tell it wasn't any of the usual club members and by process of elimination it had to be the fourth unofficial member.

The person took their usual seat opposite her and began to fold cranes of their own. It wasn’t long before Umeko found herself closing her eyes and resting her head against the table.

\-------

Despite Umeko falling asleep the person didn’t stop folding. Time after time without fail the cranes had a crinkled wing. It had been three years and the cranes they made hadn’t really changed all that much.

Eventually they got up and put away their cranes. Just as quietly as they walked in, they made their way to the door. “We have a match soon.” What started as an offhand comment had evolved into a routine. Before every important match they would notify her. They never shared more than a few lines with each other.

“I know you’ll win” Umeko mumbled, seemingly still half asleep. She opened her eyes or at least tried to, only to be greeted by a fleeting silhouette as the mystery person disappeared outside of the room.

The person chuckled quietly not expecting a response. “Yes.”


	11. Lucky Bunny

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Interhigh tournament and painting!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What did the Painter say to her boyfriend?  
> "I love you with all my art!"

**(A/N)**

**It took a little longer than I thought it would but Umeko's official appearance was finally released!**

**Now the lil baby has a place with the other OC fanfic art**

**[Umeko's Official Image.](https://www.instagram.com/p/CE3YaqeAdSg/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link) **

**\------**

“Umeko! Umeko!” Tendou bounded over to her as soon as class was dismissed. “You should come!” He threw his hands in the air without restraint.

“Come where?” Umeko packed away all her belongings before she looked up towards the boy.

Tendou’s grin never left his face. “The interhigh tournament, silly!” Tendou did a little twirl. “It’s in a few days and the other sport clubs also have theirs coming up too. Isn’t it an exciting season?”

“Oh.” Umeko smiled apologetically. “I'm sorry but I have prior arrangements on those days. Maybe for the next matches.” She rubbed the back of her neck bashfully. “I, uh. I wasn’t really expecting to become friends with anyone from a sport club” _Or any friends at all really._ But Umeko kept that last part to herself.

Tendou pouted and seemed to visibly deflate at Umeko’s rejection. “Mkayyyy, next time?”

“Yep, next time.” Umeko nodded and gave him two thumbs up and a grin.

****

****

**_-_ ** **\----DAY OF THE TOURNAMENT-----**

Umeko rummaged through her wardrobe for something to wear. After little to no deliberation she decided to go for her plaid romper. The fabric was a classic checkered print with a tie waist fit, the long sleeves were already pre-rolled up from the last time she wore them. Umeko hastily tied her hair in a ponytail and picked up her large moss green messenger bag filled with art supplies. There were three pins on the flap, the first one was a clock pin, the second one was an alien pin and the last one was a godzilla pin. Despite the bag being years old, it was still as reliable as ever.

\---------

“Good luck!” Umeko waved the boys goodbye as they left for the competition. Once they were out of sight, she readjusted the bag strap on her shoulder so it would hang comfortably. Well, as comfortably as a bag of art supplies could be. Suddenly remembering something she needed to do Umeko pulled out her phone and dialed a number. It rang twice before the recipient answered.

A male voice spoke first “Hello?”

“Hey! Are you both there?”

“Yes~!” another voice chirped in the background.

Umeko smiled -not that they could see- and began to walk to her destination while she spoke. “I know you have a game today so good luck!”

“How did you know?” The voice sounded pretty taken a back from her words.

“Pretty much all the sport clubs in our school are also competing so I figured it’d be the same for you guys.”

“Whaaa~ that’s actually really good deductive reasoning” The more energetic of the two voices exclaimed.

Umeko couldn’t see it but she could hear the stupid grin on her friend’s face. It was honestly a shame she didn’t end up going to the same school as the both of them, she figured she would have enjoyed it. “Psh, of course! I’m super smart.”

“Lies. You only have art on your brain.”

“That’s so mean” She whined playfully.

“Yeah yeah. We gotta go to warm up. We’ll let you know how it goes.” The rougher voice huffed. “See ya”

“Bye bye” Umeko hung up the phone before she shoved it back into her pocket.

\----------

Umeko stood unmoving for a few minutes to take in the appearance of the hospital. The new hospital wing was just out of construction and currently didn’t have any patients checked in. Upon entering it felt like the atmosphere was completely different. The air had a perfumed scent and the seats were plush. Every surface was dustless. There were no nurses walking around nor patients occupying rooms causing the area to hold a serene purposefulness waiting for use. 

Umeko wandered around looking for the reception desk. As she walked through, each hallway which felt identical to the last. The slate grey flooring and the dove colored walls reflected the already garish lighting. It felt like the more she wandered the more lost she was.

“Ah, Miss! Are you here to paint the walls?” an older female voice waved Umeko over.

Umeko turned to face her saving grace. It was a woman who looked like she was in her mid-forties. She was wearing a pink t-shirt and cream shorts. However, what Umeko was really looking at was the lanyard and ID she had around her neck. The sticker on her chest said ‘Youth Artist Guide’

“Yes! I got lost and can’t find where I'm supposed to go.” Umeko hurried over to the woman who simply nodded and began walking in the correct direction.

\--------

As soon as the Shiratorizawa Boys’ Volleyball Club walked in the building the cool air that nipped at their bodies seemed to drop even farther. The other students around them seemed to tense up from the Shiratorizawa’s team intensity alone. Whispers and hushed mumbling could be heard from the crowd as the team walked in proudly. Their heads were held high in indisputable hard-won confidence. They had the atmosphere worthy of their champion title.

Only when the boys entered the locker room did they relax slightly. “Despite it being years, I don’t think I’ll ever get used to walking in.” Oohira untied his tie and put it in his designated locker.

“If you just ignore them and pretend they don’t exist then it doesn’t feel as daunting as it presents itself to be.” Shirabu shrugged as he began to take off his shirt which revealed his uniform already on underneath.

Ushijima took out an origami bunny from his bag and placed it on the locker shelf. You could tell that the paper bunny’s age was catching up to it, but it was otherwise taken care of very well. “It’s fine. They don’t bother me; they aren’t the ones playing.” Ushijima nodded in approval of Shirabu as he too revealed that he had his volleyball uniform underneath his clothes.

Goshiki moved closer to Ushijima's locker and inspected the bunny without touching it. “Ushijima, why do you have a paper bunny with you?”

He put his now folded clothes and bag inside the storage space and gave the bunny one last look before he closed the locker door. “It’s my lucky rabbit.” Ushijima left the locker room and decided to wait outside. He needn’t explain any further.

Goshiki looked towards the other third years in the team for hopefully an elaboration on the item. “Is that it’s actual purpose?”

Tendou twirled in front of the mirror and nodded in approval after he finished checking his uniform. “Yep! It’s his lucky charm.” Tendou tilted his head thoughtfully, “As far as I can remember, all the way back to when we were first year students, he had already owned the bunny. It just seemed to appear one day and since then he always brought it with him to games.”

“That paper bunny is three years old?!”

“Yeah. When we asked where he got it or if he made it, he would only reply that someone important gave it to him.” Semi shrugged as he too finished changing.

\----------

“Welcome, young artists.” A man in a suit waved to the now gathered teenagers, there were probably twenty in total. “As you already know you have all been invited here by us to paint one of the rooms in the children’s wing. You may use as much or as little time as you want as long as you finish by eleven tonight. You are free to come and go as you please before eleven.” He picked up a neon yellow sticker. “You will be given two of these stickers and they will be your passes in and out of the building. As you can see, we have given you two stickers. On the chance you want to show someone your work, you have to give them the sticker for access. One sticker, one person.” The stickers were handed out by his assistants as he continued to talk.

“Each of you has already been assigned a room so once dismissed go to Sarah for your number.” He gestured to the lady who had led Umeko back to the correct location. “I have heard that everyone in this room has exceptional amounts of talent so both the staff and I will be excited to see what you come up with.”

Umeko received the number seventy-eight. She walked through the halls till she reached a glass door. It was simple and clear much like the other identical doors. Once Umeko entered the room she immediately understood why people took flowers to hospital rooms. At the far end, there were windows in brown metal frames, only openable at the top. The walls were plain white, not peeling or dusty, just white. She would like to think it was because the room was brand new but somehow Umeko had a feeling that all the rooms in the hospital looked like the one she was in now.

“Now, what to do with you?” Umeko wandered around the room and put down her bag on the grey floor cover. She sat on the ground then looked up. Umeko imagined what it would be like to be bedridden and looking at a plain white ceiling. _It would be utterly boring, and I’d lose my mind._ “I can’t even see out the window.”

Not even a few seconds after she made her statement did Umeko abruptly sit up and rummage through her bag.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wasn't going to post this chapter till Wednesday but then I got overexcited for the picture lol.


	12. Crab Cream Croquettes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> End of Interhigh tournament  
> Umeko finishes painting a room

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The easiest time to add insult to injury is when you’re signing someone’s cast.
> 
> Enjoy!

“Boys’ Finals, Aoba Johsai Highschool vs. Shiratorizawa Academy” The referee blew his whistle to signal the start of the game. The two boys in the center squared up.

“Today, we’re definitely going to knock you down a peg, so be ready for it, Ushiwaka-chan.” Oikawa smirked, mocking Ushijima, an unyielding determination filled his eyes.

Ushijima kept his head up but looked down at Oikawa. His stoic expression didn’t change, it stayed as confident as ever. “Oikawa, don’t call me that”

\-------

“U-um, do you have steel blue or cerulean paint and a roller by any chance?” Umeko awkwardly peeked around the corner to the room next to her.

“Sure do!” The student handed her two opened half-used cans and a paint roller. “Just throw it all away when you’re done with it. That roller is old. Like old old.”

Umeko thanked the student repeatedly before she dashed back into her own room. Umeko had plans. Huge plans. She taped the edges of the ceiling and around the circular light with masking tape. Umeko needed to get a move on if she wanted the paint to dry in time for the next part. Painting an entire room wasn’t the easiest thing to do.

\-------

It was Aoba Johsai’s turn to serve. Oikawa tossed the ball up and took a few paces forward before he jumped and smacked the ball over at its highest point. The ball went flying with a nasty spin as Oohira just managed to receive the ball on Ushijima's behalf. Oohira felt the ball sting but managed to dig the ball over to Shirabu.

The ball spent not even a second in Shirabu’s possession before he tossed it up in the air at the perfect hitting height.

Goshiki was already halfway in the air when the ball was thrown in front of him. He huffed in effort as he smacked the ball down and it ricocheted off the floor.

“Twenty-four to twenty-two.” The referee announced. It was the second set and it was Shiratorizawa’s match point. They needed one more point to win the game.

Goshiki’s eyes sparkled as he turned to face his team. “Did you see, did you see?!” He bounced up and down with his seemingly endless amount of energy hoping to get praise from one of his teammates.

\-----

Umeko stood up on a ladder as she started marking the ceiling. Armed with a pencil in one hand and her phone in the other Umeko began to map out what she wanted to paint. While she had waited for the paint to dry, she had already finished sketching what she envisioned on the rest of the walls.

Umeko decided to go for a space themed room. The ceiling would have the constellations, the side walls would have a few small spaceships and the entire room would have scattered stars painted with glow in the dark paint.

It had taken a few hours but eventually she was able to finish most of the room. The only problem was, is that she was out of glow in the dark paint. She realized far too late that she should have brought more with her. Umeko looked at the time on her phone. _The store should still be open, and it isn’t too far away._ She grabbed her wallet, phone and most importantly her stickers.

\----

Oikawa held up the ball. It was his turn to serve. A few paces, a spinning toss, a leap and an impossibly hard swing sent the ball flying into the ground on Shiratorizawa’s side of the court. Despite the intense pressure Oikawa was able to pull out a serve that was without a doubt the best serve of the day.

“Twenty-four to twenty-three.” The referee announced. It was still Shiratorizawa’s match point but this time they couldn’t afford to miss the next point. They didn’t want a deuce. Not on the second set. 

Oikawa sent another powerful serve over, this time it was stopped by Yamagata. He rolled back a couple times but scrambled back into position just in time to see Shirabu toss the ball up once more.

Ushijima didn’t hesitate when he jumped and slammed the ball down with all his strength. He easily broke past a three man block and the ball hit the floor on Aoba Johsai’s side. The squeaking shoes and scattered cheers were as always overwhelmingly loud as the crowd erupted, but despite this, the sound of the ball hitting the floor seemed to devour every other sound.

“End of match! Winner, Shiratorizawa Academy” The referee blew a long high-pitched whistle to signal the game. It was a straight two sets.

The game was close, but Aoba Johsai had no chance. The practice, experience and strategy that lead them to that final game were all crushed by Shiratorizawa with brute force alone.

****

****

**_-_ ** **\----TWO HOURS LATER-----**

The sky was already turning orange and yellow as the sun prepared to set. Umeko had managed to buy all the paint she needed -maybe she splurged a little, but it was for a good cause.

“Ume?”

Umeko turned around to the familiar voice. “Ushijima!” She grinned and attempted to run to him but only managed a brisk walk that was almost a jog. Thankfully he walked towards her and they met halfway. “How are you? Did the match go well?”

Ushijima nodded with a proud look on his face. “We won.” He was still in his school tracksuit and left his jacket unzipped. In his left hand he cradled a small paper bag, from the care he put into holding it the contents were probably important.

“Congratulations! I would hug you or give you a high five but I'm pretty sure I have paint on me and I'm not sure if it’s dried or not.” She realized what she said after she had said it. _A hug?! A hug? What am I saying? I can’t just hug him like that!_ She screamed internally while she kept the smile on her face. _The only non-relatives you’ve hugged are your two friends who might as well be relatives._ Honestly Umeko wasn’t even sure if she could even go through with the hug if he wanted one. She didn’t feel brave enough to make that leap.

Ushijima noticed the bag in her hands and carefully took it from her and carried it with his right arm. “I can carry these. You also don’t have paint on your clothes.”

“O-oh, a high five!” She held up one of her now free hands for a high five before realizing that both of Ushijima’s hands were full. She blushed feeling awfully embarrassed at her blunder. “U-um, hold on.” Umeko hastily took the bag back from him and they finally completed the high five. She grinned broadly trying to pretend like her little mishap didn’t happen.

Ushijima smiled as he accepted the high five. Oddly enough, he enjoyed watching her facial expressions change. Umeko could go from happy to flustered to stubborn at the drop of a hat, but out of all her expressions, he liked her smiling face the best. He began to walk in pace beside her as she started the journey back to wherever she was going. This time it was his turn to initiate small talk. “What do you need all this paint for? Didn’t you just buy some?”

“I did, but I already used it all.” She chuckled bashfully and messed with her ponytail. “I’ve been painting all day and I'm finally almost finished.” They walked a few more steps before Umeko gasped. “Can I show you? Do you have time?”

“Yes. I’d very much like to see your artwork. Your drawing skills are impressive so I'm curious to see your painting skills as well.”

Umeko needed no more prompting and stuck a large neon yellow sticker on him. “Great!” She carefully pinched the sleeve of his tracksuit jacket and led him along at a fast pace to the hospital.

****

****

**_-_ ** **\----BACK AT THE HOSPITAL-----**

“Tada!” Umeko opened her arms to gesture to the entirety of the room. “What do you think?” She grinned broadly, her eyes twinkling as she waited for a reaction – not all too different to how Goshiki was like earlier in the day.

Ushijima looked around and inspected each little detail. He had to admit, the room did look incredibly nice. The spaceships seemed to float around the space themed room as he replied, “It’s beautiful.”

Umeko’s smile alone seemed to be enough to brighten up the room further. It was always nice to have a positive opinion from someone she personally knew. It was a double plus because Ushijima spoke in such a blunt manner that anyone could tell he was being genuine. Not wasting any time Umeko once more began to use the glow in the dark paint to add the finishing touches to the room. She stood by the wall with Ushijima beside her.

_He is probably really uncomfortable standing up, maybe I should pull in a chair or say he can sit anywhere_. Before Umeko could say anything her stomach growled. The tips of her ears burned bright red as she tried to cover her reddening face to no avail. “S-sorry. I haven’t had anything to eat because I was so engrossed in painting.

Ushijima took out the item that was in the brown paper bag. “It should still be warm.” He opened the container and inside it was filled with a small pile of crab cream croquettes. “I saw these on the way back from the tournament and remembered that you liked these. I was going to share them with you later but now is probably a better time.”

Umeko was speechless. Ushijima remembered her one-off comment about her favorite food and even went as far as to buy them for her. “Is it really ok?” She looked up, hopeful. Umeko was honestly touched by the gesture. It may have seemed like a small gesture, but it felt anything but that.


	13. Acrylic Paint is Better

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Umeko finishes painting the room   
> Umeko and Ushijima walk home together

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Why did the cannibal break up with his girlfriend?   
> She didn't suit his taste!
> 
> Happy reading!

“Of course. I got these to share with you.” Ushijima picked up one of the two toothpicks and offered one of the croquettes to her. “Here. Your hands are full.”

Umeko happily obliged and ate the food right off the toothpick. Thankfully it was still warm and -rather conveniently- it was the perfect temperature to eat right away. She hastily finished her mouth just as Ushijima ate one of his own. “What do you think?”

He swallowed “They taste quite pleasant.” Ushijima wasn’t expecting it to taste quite as good as it did. While it wasn’t his thing, he wouldn’t mind eating them every now and again. Ushijima offered another portion to her which Umeko eagerly ate up.

It took a moment before Umeko noticed. Not only had Ushijima fed her but he had forgotten to switch between toothpicks. She tried to keep her growing blush under control. _This has to be crossing the boundary between friends, right?_ Umeko was internally freaking out as she continued to paint. Despite coming to this realization, she kept accepting the food offered to her. Umeko didn’t dare say anything as long as he didn’t. Ushijima honestly didn’t seem that bothered – much to her dismay or fortune. Umeko continued to paint stars on the wall trying to distract herself from the bubbles in her chest.

Ushijima wordlessly kept feeding her between his own bites. He had neglected to change the toothpicks and now that he had realized it; it was far too late to change the toothpicks out. Instead he just kept trucking on in silence. Unlike his neutral exterior Ushijima’s mind was going a mile a minute, almost all his thoughts were of Umeko. _What did she think about it? She wasn’t saying anything so maybe it didn’t bother her? Or was this a normal thing for her? Doubt it. Were the tips of her tears pink because of her blush?_ There were so many questions he wanted to know the answer to. There was a little prickle of satisfaction and a fluttering in his chest after every mouthful she took, it was bizarre. Never in his life did he even dream of this happening.

It wasn’t long before both the food and Umeko were finished. “Thank you for the food. I really enjoyed it.”

“I'm glad, I did get them for you after all.” Ushijima nodded, then went around to find a rubbish bin. Umeko began tidying up all her supplies. The room was a darker muted blue which accented the plethora of different sized stars painted with glow in the dark paint. Around the room there were a few different colored spaceships, some orange, some pink and some green which seemed to fly round the expanse of stars. On the ceiling were the constellations arranged in a seemingly random pattern. Umeko had officially finished painting the room and she had to admit, she did a pretty good job.

**_-_ ** **\----THIRTY MINUTES LATER-----**

The travel home was pretty smooth, the only mishap being a late bus. Usually this would have bothered Umeko more, but now that she had a companion to wait with her and no deadline, she was much more willing to wait.

They chatted pleasantly about the events of the day, both uplifted by each other’s presence. The conversation was littered with smiles, whatever the conversation was about, neither really cared as they just basked in the gentle atmosphere.

It had gotten considerably darker on the final stretch back home. Umeko scooted closer to Ushijima the darker it got. The warm rays of the sun replaced by an unrelenting blackness of the night, the blanket of stars and crescent moon above them provided some lighting between each streetlight. They heard a clatter from somewhere around them and caused Umeko to flinch. Without realizing it herself, Umeko held tight to the sleeve of Ushijima’s jacket as they continued to walk.

Noticing her discomfort Ushijima very slowly coaxed Umeko into letting go of his sleeve. He instead joined their hands together and continued to walk. His heart was pounding, not much slower than when it would during a volleyball match. Despite it being simple skinship, his stomach was doing flips like it had won a championship game. His large hands easily fit perfectly with her smaller ones; her delicate fingers interlocked with his. Ushijima noticed Umeko relax to his touch, no longer as tense as she had been earlier.

Ushijima’s hands felt calloused and rough especially compared to Umeko’s softer hands. His hands were a testament to how hard he worked over the years to continuously improve as a player. Unsurprisingly, Umeko thought it suited him. She felt Ushijima squeeze her hand comfortingly and she couldn’t help but smile and blush at the reassurance. His presence alone made her feel considerably safer than if she were to walk by herself. While she wasn’t ready for the gesture, she was grateful that he initiated it. Call her silly, but it wasn’t that she was afraid of the dark. Umeko was wary of what went bump in the night, be it people, animals or monsters, when she couldn't see them she was scared of them equally. The last part was unrealistic, but it was still a fear – irrational as it sounded.

**_-_ ** **\----TWENTY MINUTES LATER-----**

“Thank you so much for walking all the way back to the girls’ dorms with me.” Umeko released his hand as they reached their destination.

He furrowed his eyebrows for a split second as she gave a sparing glance to his hand. He was bewildered by the warmth that lingered on it but felt disappointed at the emptiness. “No problem. I enjoyed our time together.”

Umeko thanked the night as the dim lighting muted any possible blush she had on her cheeks. It was one thing to enjoy one-sidedly but it was a whole different story when both people had fun. Before Umeko was able to say anything, Ushijima continued.

“If…” A few seconds passed as he contemplated his next words. “Next time we go out, I’ll bring you somewhere.” There was no question in Ushijima’s statement. He had already decided they would be going somewhere together in the future.

Umeko fumbled unable to find words to properly express her emotions. Eventually she settled for a hopeful nod.

Ushijima handed Umeko a folded slip of paper. “Goodnight, Ume.”

“Night nighty, Ushijima.”

\------

As soon as Umeko reached the safety of her room she sunk down to the floor and freaked out. She was honestly impressed she was able to hold back her squealing fangirl inside long enough for her to retreat back to her room.

Umeko opened the scrap of paper then suddenly gasped and scrambled in her bag for her phone. Ushijima had given her his phone number. Umeko immediately sent him a text.

**_Umeko:_ ** _Hi! It’s Umeko. This is my number :D thanks again for today._

**_Umeko:_ ** _It was fun!_

**_Ushijima:_ ** _Hello. I agree today was most enjoyable. It was due to both of our efforts; it is getting late now though. You should get some rest. Goodnight, Ume._

Umeko blushed, she felt giddy from the interaction alone. Since Umeko had her phone out, she opened her group chat with full intention to tell her two friends what had happened before she caught herself. _I should probably let them have the night to themselves._ Umeko carefully put down her phone and got ready for bed. She had decided to stay up for a little longer considering that it was Sunday tomorrow and she had nothing planned.

“Maybe I should try the watercolor pens.” Umeko mumbled as she sat down at her desk. She opened her sketchbook and quickly drew some doodles of different kinds of flowers with a pen she knew wouldn’t run. She then took the watercolor pens out from their case and began to fill in the colors.

She didn’t last more than ten minutes before she was ready to quit. The colors were mixing where they weren’t supposed to, they were leaking out of the lines in smudges and it’s safe to say that watercolor pens were never going to be her medium of choice. “Looks like after all these years I still suck.” She groaned as she began to tidy up her mess. Umeko would have liked to blame her lack of skill on the fact that her head was still in the clouds from earlier, but she knew better than that. She just wasn’t good at using the pens. Umeko vowed one day she would come back to watercolor and try to improve her skills, but today was not that day.

****

****

**_-_ ** **\----THE NEXT DAY-----**

By the time Umeko woke up it was already early afternoon. She reached for her phone without getting out of bed then snuggled into the blankets again. She had three missed calls and a bunch of text messages. Umeko began to scroll through the text messages in the group chat so she could get back up to speed.

From the looks of it her friends had lost their match. Umeko figured she could check up on them and see how they were doing. After some deliberation of which phone to call she decided to go for the more sensible of the two. Before Umeko was even able to start a call, her phone rang. “Speak of the devil and he shall come.” Umeko mumbled before she hastily answered.


	14. Invited Enemy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A phone call  
> Childhood friends revealed

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What is a vampires favorite type of ship?  
> A blood vessel
> 
> Enjoy!

A familiar voice spoke first “Hi, I'm assuming you just woke up?”

“You’re finally awake!” another familiar but more energetic voice interjected,

Umeko yawned, then winced when she heard the unexpected loudness. “Yeah, I was up really late last night. I was painting a room, showed a friend then he walked me back home.”

“Oh same!” The voice chirped. “Well, not the painting part. We ended up losing so we just ended up crying till we fell asleep” There was laughter on the other end of the phone. “Next time, we won’t lose.”

“Whatever you say.” Umeko hummed as she rubbed the rest of the sleepy dust out of her eyes.

“I do say so. Now, let’s go to a much more uplifting topic. Who is this ‘he’ friend of yours?”

Umeko couldn’t see it but she was certain that the owner of the voice was making an infuriatingly smug expression. “We are just friends.” She pouted. A little part of Umeko really wanted to believe otherwise. That they were just a smidge more than ‘just friends’ but the more sensible side of her wrote the idea off as impossible…ish.

“I don’t believe you~” The voice on the other side of the phone used a singsong voice and seemed to be having the time of their life. “You really should have come to our school. I still have no idea why you didn’t. Now that I think about it, what school do you go to? You never told us. I bet it su-Ouch! What was that for?”

“You already know the reason.”

Judging by the voices and the sudden exclamation there was some light violence involved. Umeko smiled to herself. “He is right, you know. I already told you both what my plans were. “They have a surprisingly good art program here and it looks really nice on your resume. I had to study so hard to get in; I felt like I was dying.” Umeko looked at the artwork around her room. “I want to be an artist so I have to reach for the best starting point I can.”

“That’s admirable.”

There was a longer than usual pause. “So um, why’d you call?” Umeko tried to get back on topic.

“Oh yeah. We are going rafting; you should join us. It’s been a while since the three of us got together.” The more sensible voice seemed to be in charge of the phone this time.

“Rafting? We haven’t gone rafting since we became second years. Are you sure that’s a good idea?”

“It’s a great idea!” The other voice chirped from the background.

Umeko weighed the pros and cons. Did she want to go out and go rafting the day before class? The answer was yes. “I’ll go, when and where?”

“Meet us at the train station and we can all take the train there. How does eleven sound? We can have lunch on the train.”

A sudden clambering sound came from the phone as the phone was taken from the ‘sensible friend’. “Bring your ‘he’ friend!”

Umeko winced as the voice shouted into the microphone. “I don’t know if he’d be willing to go.”

“Oh, come on! It’ll be a double date! You always play third wheel.”

“It’s not a double date if we aren’t dating.” Umeko responded, trying not to get swept up in the enthusiasm.

“Just ask him anyway! Say that we are all going rafting and we need a plus one! The worst he could say is no.”

“I don’t know if my glass heart can take that kind of rejection. What if it becomes awkward? I don’t want that.” She whimpered. There was a long silence.

“Oho is this the start of a crush?”

Heat rose to Umeko’s cheeks. “N-no? Well I don’t think so maybe. It just...” Umeko whimpered as she tried to organize her words. “I-I mean I get all warm and fluffy inside whenever I'm around him.” Umeko laughed awkwardly. At this point she knew both her friends were listening intently and it was too late to back out. “That doesn’t mean it’s a crush though! I-I could be like sick or something.” Umeko let her mouth ramble on as she tried to glaze over the subject. “Could totally be the crab cream croquette we ate! My stomach growled and he got food for us. Since I was painting still, he fed me. But I mean it might have gotten weird with the one toothpick we shared and all. But I mean like it was good food and stuff, so yeah um... Can we move on?”

“He did what!?” Both voices shouted in unison. “Now you have to bring him. No if’s, buts or ands. See you later!”

Before Umeko could refuse, the call ended. “They actually hung up…” Umeko groaned as she looked at the time. It was already ten, so she didn’t have very long to actually get ready and go to the station. Umeko pursed her lips and stared at her phone. _Well, it wouldn’t hurt…right?”_ Umeko decided she was going to risk asking. _It is for the good of the group, rafting with four is better than three! Nothing else going on. Not at all. For the betterment of the activity and the group._

**_Umeko:_ ** _Morning! Are you free today? Im going rafting with two other friends of mine :D_

**_Umeko:_ ** _We are planning on taking the train there. We are meeting in the station at eleven, lunch is on the train_

**_Umeko:_ ** _They go to a different school so its been a while since weve hung out._

**_Umeko_ ** _: I was just wondering if you would like to come too. they wanted to meet you._

**_Umeko:_ ** _Its ok if you don’t want to though! you don’t have to feel pressured into coming along. I just thought Id ask you._

Umeko put her phone down and instantly regretted her actions. While she was picking out to wear her mind was elsewhere. _What if he doesn’t reply? What if he is busy? What if he feels pressured? What if he doesn’t want to go? What if he is asleep? What if…_ Umeko was yanked out of her spiraling thoughts when she heard a text notification.

**_Ushijima_ ** _: If you’d have me, I’d like to go. I haven’t been rafting before._

**_Umeko:_ ** _That’s totally fine! I’ll meet you at the school entrance. 10:35am sound good? We’ll walk to the station together._

**_Umeko:_ ** _Oh don’t forget to bring swimwear and extra clothes and sunscreen._

**_Ushijima:_ ** _Ok, I’ll see you there._

Umeko almost screamed in excitement. The gamble paid off. “Oh.” She was pleasantly surprised to find that she did indeed have a swimsuit. Unfortunately, when she saw it, she questioned all her past decisions that lead up to buying the thing. Umeko cried internally as she wore it under her clothing.

**_-_ ** **\----AT THE TRAIN STATION-----**

It was ten to eleven when Ushijima and Umeko arrived at the train station. It was quite nice, albeit loud but it’s a train station, of course it would be. As soon as her eyes landed on two familiar figures she ran up and started a group hug between the three of them. “Iwa! Oikawa! It’s been ages!” The trio hadn’t met up in person in a little over a year, all three students had been busy trying to map out their future.

After a long enough while the three released each other from the hug. “Way too long Aki-chan”

Iwaizumi ruffled Umeko’s hair mussing it up a little. “So, where’s the friend?”

“He’s ov-”

“What are you doing here!?” Oikawa pointed at Ushijima with an almost horrified look on his face.

Ushijima on the other hand only looked mildly surprised. “Ah, Oikawa.”

“You know each other?” Umeko turned to the pair.

“Yes.” Ushijima simply nodded. “They were our opponents for the interhigh tournament”

“We lost against Shiratorizawa.” Oikawa pouted trying to unpack what was happening. “Why didn’t you tell me you went to Shiratorizawa!”

“I thought it didn’t matter.” Umeko laughed awkwardly. “Oops?”

Iwaizumi jabbed Oikawa in the gut. “It doesn’t matter what school anyone goes to. Shittykawa is just being dramatic.” Iwaizumi turned to face Ushijima. “As you know, I am Iwaizumi Hajime, and this is Oikawa Tooru. Nice to formally meet you off court.”

“Ushijima Wakatoshi. It’s a pleasure.”

Oikawa whimpered weakly as he reeled from the jab. “Traitor Iwa-chan…”

There was a long awkward pause between all three of the volleyball players. Thankfully, Umeko was able to keep the conversation rolling. “Well, now that you’ve all met, we have a train to catch.” She held up four train tickets.

“When did you…?”

Umeko smiled proudly at Iwaizumi’s question. “When the three of you were having your stare down.”

Ushijima nodded and gently placed his hand atop Umeko’s head. “Good job, Ume.” At this point Umeko knew that this gesture was his attempt at a head pat. She wasn’t really sure where he saw this gesture but Umeko wasn’t complaining.

“Ume?! Ume?!” Oikawa was revived and louder than ever. “Your nickname for her is based on her first name?! And what do you think you are doing with that hand?!” Oikawa wailed then latched onto Umeko without looking away from Ushijima. “I won’t let you take Aki-chan away from me.”

Iwaizumi raised an eyebrow.

“I mean, from us!” Oikawa corrected.

Umeko sighed and gently flicked Oikawa’s forehead. “No one is taking anyone away anywhere. Now let’s go. We still need to buy lunch.”


	15. Welcome Aboard!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> They finally start their rafting adventure!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What do you get from a pampered cow?  
> Spoiled milk!
> 
> Happy reading!

The train ride to their destination was almost unbearable. The only saving grace from the silence was the sound of quiet chatter from around them and the occasional comment here and there. Thankfully by the end of the train ride, Ushijima and Oikawa seemed to have come to some form of agreement where they would tolerate each other enough that it wouldn’t dampen anyone’s spirits. By the time the group disembarked from the bus ride to the rafting site, Oikawa and Ushijima seemed to be able to hold polite conversation.

Hajime and Umeko both shared a hidden high-five. They weren’t expecting friendship, that was asking too much. But they at least hoped they wouldn’t argue. “We are finally here!” Oikawa chirped as he turned to face the group seemingly invigorated by the change of location.

Hajime took a deep breath in and grinned. “Sure are.” The air was rich with the fragrance of leaves and river water. The dirt and gravel crunched under their feet as they walked deeper through the tall trees. Even in the noon daylight the forest was cool, and the colors were soft hues of dark greens and browns. The only movement was the occasional bird and the gentle breeze that swept the leaves overhead. Eventually the trees started to thin and they finally reached the campsite beside the river.

Umeko looked around then spotted a changing area. “We can change into our swimwear over there, I think they have lockers there too.” Before waiting for a reply Umeko scurried off to change and put her stuff away.

\-------

Ushijima watched as Umeko hurriedly left to change before he decided to go himself but instead of entering the changing area he instead went to the lockers. There was no need for him to enter a changing room, all he needed to do was take off his black shirt and he would be golden.

“Ushijima! Don’t close the locker yet.” Iwaizumi ran to catch up and stood beside him. “We can share two people to a locker. Oikawa and Akiyama can share one.”

Ushijima simply nodded and waited till Iwaizumi put his own shirt inside the locker before he closed the door.

“I’m back!” A familiar voice chirped.

Oikawa waved “Whaaa~ you look so cute.”

“Welcome ba-” Ushijima turned around to face Umeko. His initial reaction was shock, followed by an overwhelming torrent of thoughts. Umeko was wearing a baby pink off the shoulder bikini. The bottom half of the set was nothing fancy, a low waisted solid color of pink that clung to her figure. The top half of the bikini had a long single ruffle that encompassed both her chest and her arms, also baby pink.

Ushijima felt heat rise to his cheeks as he immediately turned around not sure where to look. He didn’t expect her to wear, let alone own a bikini. Albeit the particular type she was wearing was considerably more reserved than others he had seen before. The tips of his ears turned red as he tried to mentally prepare himself to turn back around. He tried to keep his thoughts under control to no avail. _She looks cute…no, adorable._

\---------

Once Umeko spotted the three boys she immediately ran up to them. “I'm back!” she chirped, pleased with how little time it took her to get ready.

Oikawa waved “Whaaa~ you look so cute.”

Honestly that was a relief to hear. This particular style of bikini wasn’t really Umeko’s thing, but it was sitting in her closet for years, so she needed to use it at one point. Umeko turned to face Ushijima just as he turned to face her. “Tha-”

Umeko sucked in a sharp breath as Ushijima’s shirtless torso was exposed to her. Her face burned a bright pink all the way up to her ears. Umeko had seen Oikawa and Iwaizumi shirtless but somehow shirtless Ushijima just hit differently. She dare say his physique was mesmerizing. His body was sculpture worthy. His chiseled chest and abdominals were a masterpiece.

As if realizing her thoughts Umeko turned the fastest one-eighty she was capable of and fanned her face _. Did he see me gawking? Aha, let’s be real you weren’t, you were flabbergasted, wonderstruck, drooling even!_ Umeko cursed her betraying thoughts and tried to calm her face back down. She wasn’t expecting to react like that at all. Umeko took a deep breath in. _You can get over this. Everyone will be wearing a life jacket anyway._

\----------

Oikawa watched Ushijima and Umeko’s reaction and cringed. “What is this tension? It’s disgusting. Ew, it’s like they like each other or something.”

Iwaizumi hit the back of Oikawa’s head not enough to hurt but enough to get a reaction. “I'm sure that’s what Akiyama thought about us before we started dating.”

Oikawa pouted. “I bet we weren’t that gross.” Immediately a fun idea popped into his head. “Ushiwaka-chan~ what do you think of Aki-chan’s swimsuit? Doesn’t she look pretty?”

Ushijima hesitated before he answered. _She looks beautiful._ “She looks good.” His voice hitched at the end but otherwise it was pretty deadpan.

Oikawa smirked knowingly. “What about you Aki-chan what do you think about Ushiwaka-chan?” He was having way too much fun with this.

Umeko’s face turned an even deeper shade of pink if that was possible. “M-me? W-well Ushi…Ushij-jima” Umeko stumbled over her words and made a flustered mess of stutters and unintelligible noise. “He v-ver... looks uhm. Yes.” She managed to squeak out an answer which wasn’t quite applicable to the question.

Umeko cried internally at her response. She wasn’t prepared for the question, so she wasn’t armed with an answer that didn’t make her seem like a mess. Not even a hot mess. Just a mess. “I’ll get the paddles!” Umeko announced then hastily retreated to get them.

“Hold on, you haven’t put on your lifejacket and helmet yet.” Iwaizumi tried to flag her back, but she didn’t seem to hear him. “Well then…”

\-----

By the time Umeko returned, the other members of the group had already put on their lifejackets.

“Ume. Your lifejacket.” Ushijima held open her jacket so she could easily put it on.

Umeko smiled and put the paddles aside so she could slip into it. “Thank you.” Now that she had gotten her reactions under control, she was able to respond like an actual person. Umeko was about to buckle up the front herself before Ushijima gently turned her around so she was facing him and started to close the buckles for her too. Instead of pulling away she stood still and allowed him to finish what he started.

“Is it uncomfortable in any way?” Ushijima looked down at her, concerned after he tightened the straps slightly.

“Nope!” Umeko chirped happily. “You’re perfect…I mean IT’S perfect. It’s just fine.” She hastily corrected her statement. Ushijima just nodded and didn’t say anything but Umeko didn’t miss the light pink dusting on his cheeks that sent butterflies into her stomach.

“Everyone huddle up! Y’all make sure you have your helmets on n’ your lifejacket is securely fastened. Come right this way.” One of the beefy raft supervisors walked towards the group, his thinning blonde hair was slicked back but his blue eyes were full of enthusiasm. “Hey there, I’ll be y’allses guide for today. The name’s Dylan n’ y’all are lucky to have me.” He leaned in closer to the group. “Between y’alles and me, I reckon my yellow boat n’ I are the bestest. Anyway! First things first. Safety procedures. We don’t want anyone gettin’ hurt. I'm only gonna say this once so listen up.”

****

****

**_-_ ** **\----TEN MINUTES LATER-----**

The group and their guide started drifting lazily down the river. The seating arrangement for the raft had taken a while to decide; Oikawa refused to allow Umeko to sit next to Ushijima on the account that she ‘might just like him more than both Iwaizumi and himself’. Much to Oikawa’s dismay, after a quick game of rock paper scissors it was decided that the pairing was Oikawa and Iwaizumi in the front, Umeko and Ushijima behind them and in the final row Dylan sat alone.

“We’ll be comin’ up to the first rapids right about…now!” The guide grinned and whooped unrestrained as the raft tossed left and right to the current. The roar of the water made communication almost impossible. “Row! Row! Row!”

The four students began to paddle as fast as they could and followed the instructions. Water sloshed around them and the first person to get hit with a wave was Umeko. By the time the first rapid was over, she was the only person soaked on the boat.

Ushijima had a few patches of wetness on him but nothing as extreme as Umeko. He looked over to see if she was alright. Ushijima went silent. If he had a camera, he would have liked to take a photo of the scene before him.

Even though she was completely soaked Umeko somehow managed to look rather cute. Ushijima had never seen her with her hair wet so it was a new look on her, he couldn’t say he hated it though. When the sun kissed her black hair, Ushijima noticed that her hair wasn’t entirely black but had some streaks of chocolate brown.

The background behind her seemed to pale in comparison despite it being a breathtaking sight. The tall trees that seemed to try and touch the sky blurred behind Umeko. Ushijima planned on saying something, but he didn’t know what to say. His thoughts just drifted away not unlike the raft over flat water.


	16. Smile for the Camera

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rafting adventure continues!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> How to turn the 'Take me home, country roads' song into a pick up line. 
> 
> Step one: "Country rooooaaaaaads" (sing this part)  
> Step two: (hope they know the next part. Let them sing this part) "Take me hooommmeeee!"  
> Step three: "Well, I mean. If you insist" (say something along those lines)
> 
> Now you have a lyrical pick up line.  
> \-----
> 
> Enjoy!

“It’s cold. The water is cold” Umeko shivered then scooted over in a different position so more of her body could be warmed by the sun’s rays. She put down her paddle for a second inside the boat as she squeezed the excess water out of her hair. Now that her hair was wet it went from ringlets to being almost perfectly straight. As it just so happens, her wet hair straightened out to touch her shoulders.

Dylan burst out in a hearty laugh. “Looks like the missy got soaked first. I had my lots on the pretty boy.”

“I am pretty, aren’t I?” Oikawa hummed and nodded in approval. “Did you hear that Iwa-chan? I'm pretty.”

Iwaizumi groaned and splashed water into Oikawa’s face. He had enough of listening to his ‘I am pretty’ spiel. Iwaizumi knew that Oikawa could go on for hours and he didn’t want to hear it. “If I had a volleyball, I’d throw it at you right now.” He knew that Oikawa was pretty. He had known this since they were kids, but was Iwaizumi going to tell Oikawa that? Of course not! He didn’t need to feed Oikawa’s ego any more than it already has been.

Before Oikawa would even retaliate the guide spoke up. “Y’alles row! We got another drop comin’ up!”

Umeko hastily picked up her paddle and started helping the rest of the group. The raft moved rapidly down the white water in a chaotic path, hurtling between rocks and spinning them to face any direction. The water spray was constant, reducing their vision to just a few feet. Somehow this rapid seemed to last longer than the first one as they paddled tirelessly to keep the raft under some semblance of control.

Dylan cackled like a maniac as he held his paddle above his head. “Hands up n’ smile for the picture! Whooooooo! Now row!”

\-------

The whole group was tired by the time they reached flat water. Umeko however was the only person who was visibly catching her breath. Unlike her companions she was not an athlete. In fact, Umeko was pretty sure she would never be.

“Whoeyyyyy. Missy you gotta work on your stamina.”

Ushijima furrowed his eyebrows in concern. “Ume, we can run in the mornings together if you’d like.”

“No, I'm fine.” Somewhere her pride took a blow, but she had already come to terms with her lack of athleticism. “I can draw people running, I don’t run.” Once she caught her breath she looked up to Ushijima and gave him a weak thumbs up. “Thanks though.”

Ushijima nodded. “The offer will always be open.”

Oikawa went to grab his paddle with the intention of violence. “Uh…” He looked around confused when he couldn’t find it. _I could have sworn I had it a few seconds ago._

“Did you lose another paddle?” Umeko deadpanned with an eyebrow raised.

“No way! I held on tight to it this time, Aki-chan!”

“Whatever you say” Umeko teased playfully.

Oikawa leant to the side just as the raft suddenly shook. Predictably, Oikawa fell face first into the still water with a squeak. He scrambled up and bobbed back above the water, his brown hair had flopped down and covered his left eye as he gasped for air.

With what seemed almost like practiced movements Iwaizumi took the right shoulder strap of Oikawa’s life jacket, Umeko took the left and the pair grunted with effort as they managed to yank Oikawa back into the boat and on top of them. The trio lay dogpiled in the center laughing. “Somehow I'm not surprised you fell first” Iwaizumi managed to force his words out through chuckles.

Ushijima had never seen Umeko so relaxed around people. He observed her smiles and felt this squeezing feeling in his chest. While she had warmed up to the team, the Umeko now had a completely different atmosphere surrounding her. She seemed more at ease. That’s not to say she was tense around the team, but she just wasn’t as open.

_I want to make her smile like that._ Ushijima’s lips pursed together as if he had tasted something bitter, for once in his life Ushijima felt envious. It wasn’t pleasant and left a pit in his stomach. In a poor lapse of judgement -for just a split second- Ushijima thought that maybe it would be better that Oikawa didn’t come to Shiratorizawa. He quickly dismissed that ridiculous idea. “Oikawa, you should have come to Shiratorizawa.”

****

****

**_-_ ** **\----TWO HOURS LATER-----**

By the time the raft and its passengers safely made their way to the bottom of the river, everyone was completely soaked and out of energy. Some more tired than others. Umeko sighed and slumped back on the now still raft. “Maybe… I should do some light running or at least strengthen my arm muscles. I mean look at these twigs.” She held up her arms weakly.

“Five am?” Ushijima immediately offered a time.

Umeko whimpered and dragged herself off the boat. “Nevermind, I think I’m happy with twig arms. The arms that I can’t feel anymore.”

Iwaizumi shook his head. As someone who owned nice arms he really couldn’t relate to that sentiment. “Yeah, yeah. Come on. We need to change so we can see the pictures.”

Immediately both Oikawa and Umeko perked up. “I almost forgot about that!” The pair hastily began to remove their life jacket and helmet. Rafting photos were always bound to be hilarious.

****

****

**_-_ ** **\----THIRTY MINUTES LATER-----**

The group had converged at the store entrance once everyone was changed and dried. Umeko was the last out as it had taken her a little longer to put on her clothes. She was wearing a plain white t-shirt and a navy-blue suspender skirt. The suspender straps had two vertical blue and white stripes running parallel to each other, while a white whale print adorned the bottom hem of the skirt.

The group hastily shuffled through the door and huddled around the photo kiosk. It didn’t take long before they found their pictures.

Iwaizumi had followed Dylan’s example and held his paddle above his head. He looked directly into the camera like a champion. It was a great picture.

Oikawa however was not so lucky. While he did look into the camera, he received a face full of water causing his photo to look more comical than anything.

Fortunately for Umeko, she was not on the receiving end of a wave and was able to hold a smile, unfortunately she wasn’t too sure where the camera was and ended up looking in the completely wrong direction.

However, the highlight of the photo was Ushijima. In the rapids he had somehow let go of his paddle leaving it to be swept away by the current. He didn’t pay much attention to the camera; he was too busy looking into the water in an attempt to locate the paddle.

Iwaizumi didn’t bother to hide his laughter “Ahaha! Look at your face, Trashykawa!”

“Ah! It was you! I told you I didn’t lose my paddle!” Oikawa pointed to the photo. “Ushiwaka-chan lost his paddle and took mine to make it look like he didn’t lose it.”

Ushijima looked away acting like he had absolutely no idea what Oikawa was talking about which was more than enough to cause both Umeko and Iwaizumi to burst into laughter. They were definitely going to buy that photo before they left.

****

****

**_-_ ** **\----BACK AT THE TRAIN STATION-----**

Oikawa and Ushijima seemed to be having a heated one-sided conversation where the speaker was -unsurprisingly- Oikawa. Once the group reached the train station, they said their goodbyes and went their separate ways. It was already sunset by the time Ushijima and Umeko began their walk home. The sky was painted in hues of orange and pink as the sun’s rays began to fade away.

A chill breeze filled the air as the streetlights turned on. Umeko held back a shiver as she moved closer beside Ushijima so she could use him as a windbreaker.

“Here.” Ushijima took off his track jacket and put it around her shoulders. “Use this.”

Umeko looked up at him worriedly. “But, won’t you get cold?”

“I want you to wear it.”

Umeko didn’t have any way to respond so instead she just nodded and gratefully accepted. She put her arms in the sleeves and Ushijima zipped up the jacket to the very top. Umeko blushed brightly as the butterflies filled her chest once more. The smell of peaches tickled her nose as the jacket covered the bottom half of her face. It was considerably larger than she was and hung long on her arms which only emphasized their difference in size. Umeko snuggled into the warmth of the jacket, thankfully there was still heat left over from when Ushijima was wearing it. “Thank you.”

Ushijima simply nodded. There was something gratifying knowing that she was now comfortable, even at his own expense. He shuddered internally from the cold then took her hand in his. It was getting darker and if he had learned anything from the last time they walked home, it would be that Umeko seemed to be afraid of the dark. He noticed the tips of Umeko’s ears change to a deep shade of red that was noticeable under the streetlights. Ushijima looked away himself as they continued to walk home. He felt his own cheeks heat up as the butterflies in his stomach ran rampant.

“Did you enjoy rafting?”

Ushijima smiled slightly as he looked back on the day. “Yes. I had a lot of fun. I'm very happy you invited me to join you.” Ushijima’s olive eyes met Umeko’s blue ones before he leant in close enough that his lips barely ghosted the tips of her ears. His voice rumbled pleasantly as she listened. “But you were the highlight of my day.”


	17. The Thousand Cranes Club

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> What club is Umeko actually a part of?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you put your left shoe on the wrong foot...it's on the right foot.
> 
> Happy reading!

The next morning was a school day much to most students’ dismay. Umeko entered the club room with a yawn. Just as she was going to put her stuff away, she noticed a rather intricate piece of work left in her cubby. Tiny white flower bells and two leaves both made of paper sat undisturbed. The entire piece was small, no larger than her hand. _Where have I seen these flowers before?_ Umeko pulled out her phone and began to look up flowers that looked similar. Eventually she found them. “Lily of the Valley flowers, huh…” She looked at the piece again. _It’s really well made_. The only flaw was on the right leaf there was an almost unnoticeable crinkle made by someone holding the paper too tightly. _Could it be?_

“A promise of happiness.”

Umeko suddenly turned to the voice then looked at the owner confused.

Hashimoto walked in with a small wave. “Lily of the Valley flowers, they mean a promise of happiness. I always thought those flowers were beautiful.” Hashimoto put her stuff in her cubby then took a stack of paper and began to fold. “You should get folding. You are a little behind if you want to finish your project within the allotted time frame.”

“Ah, right” Umeko ever so carefully put the flowers back down before she grabbed a stack of colorful origami paper and sat down to fold. The two students chatted pleasantly while they waited for the final member of the club. It was the first Monday of the month, so it was due time for the next official club meeting.

“G’mornin’, Akiyama, Hashimoto!” Sakuma chirped, his hair and uniform in disarray.

Umeko gave Sakuma a polite wave while Hashimoto simply raised an eyebrow. “You were almost late.”

“But I wasn’t!”

Hashimoto rubbed her temples. “You are the club leader. You can’t just be late to the scheduled meetings.” She sighed. Hashimoto was trying her best to stay composed. “What were you even doing? You look terrible.”

Honestly Sakuma had just overslept but there was no way he was going to tell her that, especially since Hashimoto had gotten worked up about setting alarms. He did try to sleep early but he just kept waking up, it was a fitful slumber if you could even call it that. _Besides, she has other things to worry about._ “I, uh, got ambushed by a fangirl?”

“What utter garbage. Someone like you? With fangirls. Don’t make me laugh.” Hashimoto looked back down at her work and held back a grimace. _Was that too harsh?_ “It doesn’t matter, let’s just choose the next club.”

Umeko didn’t look away from her paper nor did she speak during the whole exchange. It was a familiar banter by now, but it was still a pain just listening to it. Both parties were horribly unaware of each other.

Umeko snuck a glance at Hashimoto. While her words seemed cold -perhaps even uncaring- she just didn’t know how to express her concern in a different way. It wasn’t that she was dishonest about her feelings, Hashimoto was just harsh in her delivery. As far as Umeko was aware, Hashimoto was the only daughter of a large company who was raised to be the perfect image of a strong businesswoman.

Umeko looked over to Sakuma as he grabbed his papers with a grumble. For Sakuma, he was a little harder to get a read on. He didn’t want to burden people with his own problems so he would rather come up with ridiculous stories and leave the listener none the wiser. Sakuma was very much someone who was both considerate and not at the same time.

Throughout the past three years Umeko, Sakuma and Hashimoto had shared together, they had never shared more than a few words about their personal lives. Every deduction they had of each other was all based on speculation from behavior and scraps of information that they could find. Umeko sighed in relief as her latest creation was actually what it was supposed to be.

Sakuma cleared his throat. “Alrighty. Let’s start the official meeting of ‘The Thousand Cranes Club’. Hashimoto, Umeko, the figures please.”

Hashimoto pulled out a notebook from seemingly nowhere and began to read. “It seems like all the clubs we have helped out are doing considerably better, but there are however a few which seem to have started a decline again. The Puzzle club is losing members over lack of interesting activities, the Bug club seems to be low on club funds again and the Astrology club lost another teacher advisor.” Hashimoto closed the book and sighed. “I honestly have no idea why the Astrology club keeps needing to change teacher advisors.”

It was Umeko’s turn to speak next. While she didn’t directly deal with monitoring the other clubs it was her job to keep records and listen for any rumors of struggling clubs. “It is out of our hands if the Astrology club can’t keep a teacher and we have already sent a crane to the Bug club recently. The last time we sent a crane to the Puzzle club was a couple years ago. But considering that it was only a couple years is slightly worrying. I heard that the new club leader is a very stubborn ‘I go at my own pace’ kind of person.”

Sakuma sighed. “I suppose we can still give him a crane but not the funds. If he wants the help, he will take it. If not then he won’t.” The three students looked at each other then came to an agreement. The puzzle club would receive the crane. All they needed now was a plan to save the Puzzle club.

****

****

**_-_ ** **\----ONE HOUR LATER-----**

Sakuma groaned, “I should have joined a different club.”

“Don’t say that! This club has years of heritage and isn’t something that anyone can just join!” Hashimoto protested. Once Hashimoto had finished writing the final ‘How to Save the Puzzle club’ note she began to fold it into the shape of a crane.

“It took us one hour to come up with a plan! We should at least gather more members.”

Umeko pouted as her latest paper had somehow turned into a paper frog. “The rules say we can’t unless they find the room. Besides when we graduate, we need to put our photos in the club book and there are only enough spaces for three photos.”

The Thousand Cranes club was less exclusive but more obscure. There were rumors of its existence floating around but no one was really sure of its members, the only proof of the club existing were the cranes it left behind. The aim of the club was to provide advice to other small clubs and help them on their feet. Every year they only had three members and no teacher advisor. You could only join the club if you found the club room, either by accident or on purpose.

"But those rules are super old!"

Only once every three years the members would change, once the third years left, new first years would join if they found the room. Since the creation of the club there has never been more than three members, which was why Umeko was so shocked when there was a mysterious fourth person who knew of the room.

“I mean we can change tradition and make it a more open club!” Sakuma protested. “It’ll be called the ‘Helping Hand club.”

Hashimoto put the finished crane in the center of her table before she spoke. “We cannot! There is a reason we were all drawn to this place. Something from above was reaching out to us. It told us that this is the place.” She huffed, “Besides none of us were looking for this room in particular.”

All three current members found the club room for very different reasons. Sakuma was the first to find the room. He had a breakdown and found the room to cry in.

The second was Hashimoto who came one week later, she was just looking for a quiet place to study. Coincidentally, that was also when the records book was found.

Then finally a few days after that, Umeko had arrived. She was looking for a place to be alone with her thoughts.

They weren’t really sure why that room interested them so much, but it was the history of the club book that made them stay. To an onlooker it would be easy to say that they found that place because they had a wish that they themselves didn’t realize or that it was all just coincidence.

Umeko closed her eyes. Even she herself didn’t know what made her stay. Perhaps it was duty, boredom, curiosity or even a combination of all three. _They say that if you fold one thousand paper cranes you will be granted a wish. How fantastical._ For the first two years in the club Umeko failed to fold a thousand cranes and now that it was her final year at Shiratorizawa, she wanted to complete her goal.

“It’s our last year; there isn’t any point changing anything now. Besides, I think it’s cool how this club has its own story.” Umeko smiled as she finished folding another crane. “We accomplished quite a lot with the three of us.”

“Well, we did completely renovate the interior of the room” Sakuma rubbed the back of his neck as he thought of the memory.

Hashimoto nodded in agreement. “And we also managed to actually save other clubs. Honestly, I was worried we wouldn’t be able to with our current members.”

Both Umeko and Sakuma pretended not to hear that last part of her sentence. “Plus, I think we’ve grown up as people, well compared to when we were first years.”

“I think it was a good choice to stay.”


	18. Barren Land

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Umeko gets an email  
> Ushijima meets Hinata and Kageyama

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I could be a morning person.   
> If morning started around noon...
> 
> Enjoy!

Umeko furrowed her eyebrows as she read her latest email. She had felt the notification in the middle of class so she had to wait till it was lunch before she could actually open it. Usually she could wait a little longer but considering that no one ever emailed her it was an odd occurrence. She turned the corner and bumped into another, much sturdier body. Umeko stumbled back about to fall before she felt two arms wrap around her to keep her upright.

“Ume. You need to watch out when turning corners.” Ushijima effortlessly pulled her into his chest so she would be able to right herself easily.

Umeko blushed as she smelt peaches and heard the familiar voice. At this point she was glad her face was hidden in his chest. “S-sorry, are you alright?” Her words came out muffled.

_She feels so tiny._ Ushijima reluctantly loosened his grip on her, partially because he was worried if he held her too tight she would break, but mainly so she could move enough to regain her balance. As Umeko stepped out of his arms he felt a strange disappointment. He wanted to pull her back in. It was odd because he had never felt such a strange desire. “You are too small to hurt me.” Ushijima deadpanned in return. “Are you hurt anywhere?”

Umeko looked up at him and beamed. “You caught me this time, so I'm not hurt at all.” Umeko slipped her phone back into her pocket. “Thank you”

Ushijima nodded in acknowledgement before he processed her full statement. “This time?”

“Yeah. Remember the first time I bumped into you? I fell down.” Umeko’s cheeks turned just a hint of red from embarrassment.

“Ah, that seems so long ago.” The pair began to walk to the cafeteria once they noticed the flow of people traffic. “So, what were you so focused on?”

Umeko furrowed her eyebrows. “There is this really important youth art competition they hold every year for high schoolers. The first two times you compete in the competition you have to submit a piece of artwork to see if you qualify.”

Ushijima listened intently. “What about if you compete for the third time?”

“If you scored high enough and it is your third year competing you will get an invitation to go straight to the first round.” Umeko held up her phone. “It’ll be my third year competing, and I received an invitation.”

Ushijima gave her a confused look and stopped walking. “Do you not want to compete?”

“No, no! It’s not like that! I’m excited but I’m also just really nervous. This year they are giving out scholarships for the winners or any of the participants they find promising. And I'm just really nervous about that. And like, what if I don’t get it? What if I don’t rank? Both years prior to this one I was in the top three, but what if I can’t live up to that expectation anymore?”

Umeko felt a large hand settle gently on her head. “You don’t have to worry.” Ushijima gave Umeko a small smile. “I believe in you.”

Umeko felt the bubbles in her chest return as she hastily broke eye contact. _His smiles have to be illegal._ Honestly he didn’t do much, but somehow, he managed to dispel her troubles away with a few words and a gentle smile.

Ushijima took her silence as confirmation and moved his hand off her head. “Let’s go to the cafeteria.”

****

****

**_-_ ** **\----AFTER SCHOOL-----**

As soon as all the classes were over Umeko hastily ran to the store. During lunch she had agreed to watch one set of the practice match between Shiratorizawa and Koreha University, which meant she only had as long as the warmup and practice drills to run to the store, buy things and run back.

\-----

“Do you have some business with me?” Ushijima deadpanned. He had stopped when he heard his name. Ushijima scanned the three students trying to place who they were. He promptly decided that he had no connection to the blonde girl, nor had he ever seen the black-haired boy and he most certainly wasn’t associated with the small orange haired boy.

“Japan!” An orange haired student yelled and pointed, his face between awe and terror.

“If not, I’ll be on my way.” Ushijima turned around and continued to jog. He had no reason to stay any longer.

“We came here from Karasuno. Would you let us do reconnaissance on Shiratorizawa?” The black-haired boy called out.

Ushijima froze then turned around. “Karasuno. That team who uses a strange quick strike.” Now he was interested. He wasn’t sure what he expected the Karasuno duo to look like, but it certainly didn’t include a tiny orange student. He thought for a moment and saw no cons on the matter. “Do whatever you want. No matter how capable you lot may be…” Ushijima’s voice became deadly serious, “…You’ll see that we never weaken.” There was a stunned silence before Ushijima turned around then spoke again. “I’m returning to school, if you want to watch us then follow me. If you're able to keep up that is.”

Those words alone were enough to light a competitive spirit in the other two boys. “We’re coming along.” The black-haired boy turned to his shorter companion. “They’re an opponent we’ll defeat at the spring high, so there’s no harm in looking.” They both began to stretch.

“Are you jogging alone?” The orange haired boy tilted his head curiously. As far as he was aware all the other schools would get the whole team to run together and not just one student.

“No, everyone else is just slow.” Ushijima resumed his jog. “They’re back there somewhere.”

\--------

Umeko walked briskly through the store. She had one purpose and only one thing to buy. Soap bars. Umeko had accidentally sculpted all the remaining soap bars she owned into flowers and she didn’t have the heart to use them. At least not yet. _Maybe I should give the flower ones as gifts? They are brand new._

\------

“Uooohhh! It’s huge!” The orange haired boy exclaimed in awe. They had recently made it to the Shiratorizawa campus, and it was nothing at all like they imagined.

Ushijima ignored them and kept running to his destination. At his current pace it didn’t take very long before he made it to the gym. When he turned around, he realized he had lost the two students who were following behind him. Ushijima knew at this point it wasn’t because of the pace. It was because they probably got distracted by the facilities the school had to offer. The campus was nothing to scoff at.

Eventually he walked back to the side entrance of the gym and found both the boys peeking through a small window by the floor. “Took you long enough.” He walked past them without hesitation.

Just before he was about to enter the gym the black-haired boy spoke. “I'm Karasuno’s Kageyama. May I observe you in action?”

\-------

Umeko had finally paid for everything she needed and ran back to the school, bag in hand. She wasn’t sure how much time had passed since she left the campus, but she did know that the cashier took way too long to just scan her items. Umeko felt a bead of sweat once she finally made it all the way back to school. _I hate running._ Umeko dried off her face before she walked towards the gym.

\------

Immediately Ushijima recognized his name. “Kageyama from Kitagawa Daiichi, huh. I remember seeing how you played during middle school.” Ushijima turned to face both students again. “This school has no need of a setter who can’t devote himself to me, the ace.” While the words did sting, they were not hostile enough to be called an intimidation tactic.

The orange haired boy tried to stifle his laughter somewhat succeeding. “Yep, you definitely don’t give off a feeling of ‘devotion’ at all.”

Kageyama glared at the orange boy. “Hah?”

“The Grand King is the same way, though. But he is the strongest setter in the prefecture.”

“Oikawa has nothing to do with this.” Kageyama retorted angrily to his partner.

Ushijima took that as a cue to speak. “Oikawa is an excellent player. He should have come to Shiratorizawa. He is a setter who draws out the maximum potential of whatever team he is on.” Ushijima watched for a reaction from the two Karasuno players as he continued to speak. “If a team’s maximum potential is low, that won’t amount to anything. If it’s high, he’ll only bring it higher. That is his talent.”

The orange haired boy went silent but not out of fear.

Ushijima didn’t back down. “An excellent seedling needs excellent soil. It can’t yield first-rate fruit on barren land.”

“If Aoba Johsai is barren land then Karasuno must seem like concrete to you.” The sound of a particularly loud bang came from inside the gym which caused all the students to turn in its direction.

A volleyball rebounded from the ground and bounced upwards. Ushijima hopped up with his hand outstretched to catch the ball. His eyes widened as he saw a flash of orange appear in front of him and intercept the ball before he even had the chance to touch it.

“I’m Hinata Shouyou from the concrete.” Hinata glared fearlessly at Ushijima as he returned the volleyball. “We’re going to knock you down and go to nationals.” The world seemed to go silent at Hinata's bold declaration.

Ushijima returned Hinata’s glare with one of his own, he would be looking forward to their match.


	19. Remember Me?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shiratorizawa practice match

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A computer once beat me at chess, but it was no match for me at kick boxing.
> 
> Happy Reading!

Hinata and Kageyama strolled off campus with newfound determination. They were going to beat Shiratorizawa. Just before they reached the gate Kageyama spotted someone.

Hinata noticed Kageyama looking into the distance. “Whatcha’ looking at?”

Kageyama furrowed his eyebrows. “I think I know her. But I'm not sure.”

Hinata’s face immediately lit up. “Let’s talk to her and find out then!”

“What?! No!” Kageyama shouted, but Hinata was already long gone. “Come back, idiot!”

\-------

Umeko tensed up as she saw two students running towards her. It wasn’t long before she changed her mind about not moving and she started to run in the opposite direction.

A flash of orange appeared in front of her. “Hey! Why’d you run?” Not even a moment later did another boy appear beside him.

If Umeko was being honest she knew she wasn’t going to outrun the two boys, but she tried. Once Umeko caught her breath, she cleared her throat and stood up straight. “H-hi. Why’d you come up and talk to me?” She paused not really knowing what else to say.

“I'm Hinata and this is Kageyama.” The orange haired boy gestured to himself then to his companion respectively. “We came to talk because Kageyama said he definitely knows you!”

“I didn’t say that at all, idiot!”

Umeko furrowed her eyebrows as she examined Kageyama. _Now that I think about it. I feel like I have seen him before. Maybe a younger version?_ An image of Oikawa popped into her head followed by a memory.

\-----

_“Eww it’s Tobio-chan!”_

_“Blehh Tobio-chan.”_

_“This is Tobio-chan.”_

\-----

Umeko tilted her head. “Tobio...chan?” She was hesitant in saying his name since she wasn’t yet entirely sure of his identity.

Kageyama nodded. “I'm surprised you remember me, Aki” In fact, Kageyama was shocked about a few things regarding this new discovery but mainly he was taken aback by the uniform Umeko was wearing. Truthfully, he didn’t think he was ever going to see her again.

“Woah, it really is you! You’ve grown so tall now. I remember when you used to be tiny!” Umeko’s eyes widened as she looked him up and down before she turned to Hinata. “I'm assuming you are a friend of his, please continue to keep an eye on him.”

The smile grew even wider on Hinata’s face as he gave her a mock salute. “Yes!”

Umeko turned to Kageyama. “Aww look at you, making friends.” Umeko put her hand up to ruffle his hair only to realize that now that he had grown taller, she wasn’t able to do that anymore.

Kageyama lent down so she could reach.

Umeko happily messed up Kageyama’s hair before releasing him.

“I thought you went to Aoba Johsai with Oikawa and Iwaizumi. The school I expected the least was Shiratorizawa.”

Umeko tilted her head and sighed. “That’s what Oikawa and Iwa said too. They have a surprisingly good art program here.” Umeko rubbed her temples with two fingers as the memories returned. “I had to study so hard to get accepted into this school.”

Kageyama and Hinata internally agreed, studying will just never be fun.

Umeko perked up again. “Anyway! I suppose you are still playing volleyball?”

Judging by Umeko’s question Kageyama realized that Umeko must not have heard about the whole ‘Tyrant King’ nickname, as well as what happened during his last middle school game. Kageyama opened his mouth about to say something.

“Yeah! And he is my setter!” Hinata interrupted enthusiastically.

“That’s great. Well, I'm really glad you continued doing what you love and now you have more friends.” Just as Umeko was about to close the conversation Hinata gasped loudly.

“Hold on! You know the Grand King?!”

Umeko looked at him confused. “What?”

Kageyama promptly gave Umeko her answer. “Hinata is referring to Oikawa.”

“Oh! Yeah!” She smiled happily. “I've known both Oikawa and Iwaizumi since we were kids. We were in the same elementary and middle school together.” Umeko gave the pair an apologetic look. “Sorry it’s a bit abrupt but I kinda need to go. I promised the volleyball team I’d watch them play at least one set.”

“You know who they are?”

“Of course, they’re my friends” Umeko chirped. “Anyway. I really do have to leave now. I don’t want to be later than I already am.” She scurried off in a hurry and disappeared out of sight. “It was nice seeing you again!”

\-----

Hinata looked to Kageyama with his mouth open. “She is friends with the Grand King and the Shiratorizawa volleyball team? Aki knows everyone!”

“I didn’t think I’d see Aki again.” Kageyama mumbled as the pair continued to walk out of the school grounds. It had been three years since Kageyama had seen her and she still looked the same. It was just weird seeing her from a higher perspective. While he himself had grown considerably taller the same could not be said for Aki.

Hinata smirked as an idea came to mind. He couldn’t miss an opportunity when he saw one. “Kageyama, was Aki your first crush?”

“What? No, idiot!” Kageyama’s face turned red from Hinata’s teasing. “I don’t like her like that. She isn’t my type.”

“What is your type then?” Hinata prodded further, the smirk not leaving his face.

“You, Dumbass!” Kageyama didn’t say anything more but instead dashed ahead in a sprint. There was no way he was going to stay after that confession. _Hopefully Hinata will misinterpret what I meant._

\------

Umeko walked into the gym and looked around. The gym seemed a little more crowded now that the college team had come over to play.

“Umeko! I was starting to think you wouldn’t make it!” Tendou clapped his hands then waved to Umeko.

“Sorry, I took longer than I thought.” She began to make her way to the bench, but she was cut off by one of the college students.

“Hey, are you their manager?” The blond boy with the number twelve on his shirt smiled reassuringly to her. He was curious as to who she was because as far as he was aware, for the past three years Shiratorizawa never had a manager.

A brown-haired boy with the number one on his shirt walked towards the pair and slung an arm over #12’s shoulders. “Dude, don’t scare her.”

Umeko tensed up slightly. While she was getting better about knowing what to do, when confronted by older, taller students she was at a loss. She thought back to her lessons with Shirabu. _What would Shirabu do?_

Semi’s mum instincts heightened as he suddenly stood up. He looked over at all the members to make sure they were accounted for before his eyes landed on Umeko. _Oh, no._

“So, what if I am? Does it matter that I'm not?” Umeko suddenly felt a hand cover her mouth to muffle her voice and hide her scoff. She panicked for a moment before she heard a familiar voice.

“Sorry about that. Please ignore her last comment. Umeko is new to people” Semi laughed awkwardly as he tried to salvage what just happened. He slowly removed his hand from Umeko’s mouth and gave her a pointed look that conveyed a very clear message _‘That’s not how you make friends’_.

\------

Shirabu watched the exchange proudly. _Umeko did so good._ Though he was just a tiniest bit concerned that she may have taken his lessons too far. But overall, he was proud. At the very least she didn’t run away or curl up and cry.

Semi had ended the conversation and brought Umeko back to Shiratorizawa’s side of the court. “Umeko, you can’t just be hostile to everyone, that’s not how you make friends. You need to be open to people, don’t just be prickly. I know it’s hard to be nice when you are nervous, but you have to try to push through.”

Umeko pouted then nodded. “Yes, Semi.”

“Good.” He ruffled her hair then let her take her seat beside the coach and put the bag of soap by her feet. Typically, the manager would sit beside him but since Shiratorizawa didn’t have a manager Umeko was allowed to sit next to the coach for practice games.

“And Shirabu, please never teach anyone to be like you again.” Semi turned to face the second year then sighed. “We don’t need another salt deposit.” The whistle blew to signal the start of the final match. This time Shiratorizawa sent their official starting lineup for the match. Ushijima, Oohira and Goshiki were the Wing Spikers. Tendou and Kawanishi were the Middle Blockers. Shirabu was the Setter and finally Yamagata was the Libero.

****

****

**_-_ ** **\----FIFTY FIVE MINUTES LATER-----**

It was the third and final set. Koreha University had the starting serve. The student wearing #3 took a deep breath, three seconds later he threw the ball up and hit it with an overhand serve.

The ball flew to the edge of the court in a particularly nasty spot. Goshiki was about to receive the ball when he suddenly moved his hands away and let the ball drop. It was out. It was a good call on his part.

Kawanishi promptly began his serve as soon as the whistle blew. It was another overhand serve, unfortunately it was a little low and bounced on the net. Thankfully, it made it over and landed on Koreha’s side.

The first and second point went to Shiratorizawa.


	20. Just A Graze

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Results of the practice match

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What's the difference between a bird and a fly?  
> A bird can fly, but a fly cant bird
> 
> Happy reading~

Umeko watched intently as the squeaking of volleyball shoes filled the hall. After those first two points the game started to pick up again. Even though Umeko only had basic knowledge of the sport, even she could tell that both teams were highly skilled as the ball rallied back and forth. Umeko had never seen a full practice match before so she was shocked by its intensity.

\------

“Got it!” Koreha’s #5 easily received the ball and sent it over to their setter. #1 immediately tossed the ball up to their #13 who blasted the ball down as hard as he could.

Goshiki dashed into position and shakily managed to keep the ball up.

Shirabu leapt up and tossed. “Ushijima!” His form was a little out of place, but he made sure to send the ball exactly where it needed to be.

Ushijima locked in on the ball and jumped with his left arm pulled back, once he reached his highest point, he slammed his hand down in a form perfect spike. The ball broke through Koreha’s three-man block.

The ball flew directly to #12 who was ready and waiting for the ball. A soon as the ball made contact with his forearms, it spun then rebounded to his right and landed behind him. #12 glared at his arms then turned to face Ushijima with a grin on his face. “Goddamn lefties.”

Koreha’s #1 gave #12 a hard pat on the back. “You received it the first two sets, what’s up with you now, dude?”

“Oh, nothing much, just the leftie over there being a good cannon.” Honestly #12 hated even the mere idea of receiving a left-handed spike. The spin was sent in the opposite direction, so he had to compensate on one side. However, if he overcompensated it would fly right off his arms.

\-------

The minutes ticked by as Umeko couldn’t pull her eyes away. Shirabu had already set three consecutive balls to Ushijima and he had scored every single one without fail. Just from watching previous matches she was able to deduce that somehow left-handed spikes were harder for players to defend against. She assumed it had something to do with the fact that since there are a lot more righties than lefties, the players weren’t accustomed to the change in spin.

The point gap continued to widen and slowly but surely the game was already at seven to fifteen – with Shiratorizawa in the lead.

“Koreha University, timeout”

Both teams split up to their respective sides of the court. Umeko took this opportunity to pull out her phone and stylus. Since she wasn’t participating in the team’s meeting and there was nothing to watch, Umeko decided to finish off her latest digital work. If she was being honest, she would have preferred a much larger screen, but it would have to do.

Tendou wiped down his face with his towel then shuffled over so he was standing in front of Umeko. “How’s the game so far? It’s fun, right?” he grinned in a rather unsettling way.

If this was a few months ago Umeko probably would have run away at the mere sight of the red-haired boy, but now she was used to his smile and presence. “The game is interesting; you all look like you are having fun.”

Tendou tilted his head, his grin never left his face. “Hmm~ But what about you? Are you having fun with us?”

Umeko was taken aback from his question. She wasn’t expecting a curveball question like that, but somehow without even thinking about it, she was able to answer with one hundred percent certainty “Yes.” She was more than just a little grateful to Tendou. If he didn’t come talk to her that day she definitely wouldn’t be where she was now. Knowing herself she would have continued her monotonous routine. There was nothing bad about that, but she just liked what she had now more. “Thank you for making me be your friend.”

“It was fate.” Tendou clapped his hands once before he messed up her hair. “Now watch us win. It won’t take too much longer.”

Before Umeko could protest about her hair, the referee blew his whistle to signal the end of the timeout. Umeko watched as the game resumed. Her stylus in hand occasionally drew on her screen as she allowed herself to be pulled into watching the match.

\-------

It was Ushijima’s turn to serve. He bounced the ball a couple times then held it firmly in his hands. Everyone on the team was familiar with his pre-serve routine, even Umeko was aware of it. There was nothing overly special about it. No movement was wasted and not an ounce of hesitation surrounded him.

He stepped back a few paces then threw the ball up with a slight spin. He ran forward with his toss and jumped with flawless form. Ushijima hit the ball with an impossibly hard swing. The amount of power and force that was in the ball was enough to make the players shudder.

Koreha’s #12 clicked his tongue before he scrambled to receive the ball just before it hit the ground. This time #12 was able to send the ball up. It was a little shaky, but it was still a well-received ball regardless. He grinned proudly at his accomplishment. _Man, this kid. That hurt_.

#1 stood with his arms up and waited a second for the ball to come to him. The ball barely grazed his fingertips before he tossed it to #5 - the hardest hitting Wing Spiker Koreha had to offer.

#5 was already mid jump with a grin equally as unsettling as Tendou’s, he swung his arm down and hit the ball at its highest point with a sharp cross shot.

**_-_ ** **\----TEN MINUTES LATER-----**

True to Tendou’s word the match was finished quickly with Shiratorizawa’s victory. Umeko flinched as the ball hit the ground hard. It had spun out of control from #5’s receive. The ball rebounded and launched itself directly at her head. She was more than certain that if she were to be hit, she would die. Umeko squeaked as she just managed to turn her head away, so the ball just lightly skimmed the tip of her nose. It stung a little, but overall did no damage except make her nose red.

The sound of the ball hitting the floor then the wall echoed through the gym.

“Oh shit! Sorry, I didn’t mean for that to happen.” Koreha’s #5 came running over and hastily examined Umeko’s face. “Ahhh, I've ruined you.”

_What? Oh._ “No, no! It’s alright.” She smiled up at him the best she could. “See, it’s nothing. You didn’t do it on purpose.”

“But your cute face. My mother would kick me out if she knew I hurt a girl. I can’t have that. I'm a poor college student!” He cupped her face with both hands. “I’m sorry.” His eyes furrowed together in concern as he held tight and carefully examined every inch of her face to make sure no other damage was done.

Just as #5’s rambling began, Umeko’s ears picked up the sound of squeals and giggles. She focused her eyes to the scene a little farther behind #5. It was Ushijima. He was surrounded by a small swarm of fangirls. Immediately, Umeko felt a pang in her chest as she watched the group. _Now that I think about it. It’s only natural he has fans._ Umeko had never really stuck around to the very end of a match so she had never seen the post-match interactions. If it were the usual, Umeko would probably be walking to the gym right now.

\------

“Ushijima!” A brunette squealed and dashed up to him followed by an entourage of other girls. As soon as the match ended the fangirls had practically raced down the stairs and to the court. “You looked really cool while you were playing” She tucked a stray hair behind her ear and looked up at him.

“A-and…” a girl with honey caramel eyes blushed and suddenly shoved a wrapped gift box into Ushijima’s arms. “Please accept this as a token of my love!” The girl immediately ran away.

Ushijima wasn’t exactly sure to do with the gift he was now holding. It would be rude for him to drop it, but he couldn’t just chase after her to return it. He looked to the other girls then began to walk through the group and right through them, the gift still in hand.

\------

A flood of relief washed over Umeko. She knew that perhaps she wasn’t supposed to feel that way, but she just couldn’t help it. “H-hey!” Her focus turned back to the student squishing her cheeks.

“You were making quite the expression there.” He teased. “I’m just saying, but maybe you should act on that feeling.” He continued to squish her cheeks playfully.

“Leff go ov’ meih” She struggled to get her words out as she tried to frown.

#5 laughed then let go of her face. _Ah teenage pining. She probably doesn’t even know it herself._ “He’s very popular _.” Maybe a little push?_ “What if he gets taken away from you?”

Umeko rubbed her cheeks then pouted. “He isn’t mine.” She watched Ushijima exit the gym to the locker room.

“So, you’d be ok if some other person dated him?”

“W-well…”

Koreha’s #5 ruffled her hair. “Just keep that in mind.” He began to walk away with a wave. _Hopefully they’ll be ok._ “I'm rooting for you.”

\-------

“Ume.”

“Y-Yes?!” Umeko jolted as she was caught by surprise. She had been so deep in thought that she didn’t even realize Ushijima was calling her name.

“Are you alright?” Crinkles appeared on his forehead as he carefully scanned her face. His eyes landed on her nose. “The ball… it grazed your nose.” He brought his hand to her and cupped the side of her face. “Does it hurt?” If he knew she was hurt earlier then he would have come to check on her as soon as he could.

Umeko smiled softly. “Not at all.” An irritating voice came to mind. ‘ _So, you’d be ok if some other person dated him?’_ Before, Umeko was unsure of her answer, but now she was certain. _I like him._


	21. A Good Day for Walking

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It really is a good day for walking

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Generally, all generalizations are false!
> 
> Enjoy!

Once Umeko had realized her feelings, she was supposed to try to find out what Ushijima thought of her and maybe, just maybe confess. That was the plan. Unfortunately, with both the art competition and volleyball tournament around the corner it was hard to have an opportunity. Instead, Umeko resigned herself to wait until after the tournament and the competition, for now the both of them needed to focus on what they were pursuing. This was the last year for Umeko and Ushijima.

Umeko sighed as she finished folding her last crane. There was something therapeutic about folding and thinking at the same time. It seemed to keep her mind occupied without overthinking too much. “The mystery fourth member hasn’t visited in a while.” She tried to keep the disappointment in her voice at a minimum, but it was a little hard.

_Hm, who is the member anyway?_ Umeko had her suspicions on who it could be, but at the same time she wasn’t so sure. After three years of meeting each other she was scared to look up and see their face for the first time. Umeko wasn’t sure what she was expecting but she didn’t want to risk the disappointment if the person wasn’t who she hoped it was. She stood up and walked to the cubby. Umeko switched out her school bag with her origami paper. “Let’s get going.”

\-------

“So, what’d you say? Can you watch us?” Tendou chirped with a grin on his face. “It’ll be our last tournament and when we win, we’ll be going to nationals!”

Umeko grinned equally as bright as Tendou. “Actually, I can watch the matches this time!” She had taken extra care to keep her schedule free that day. “It’s the last tournament of the year – barring nationals of course.”

Tendou clapped then spun around once. “Yeah!” He fist bumped the air then handed her a slip of paper. “Here. The entrance ticket. The tournament date and time is written on the front and the location is printed on the back. Don’t get lost, ok?”

“So, you were planning on giving me the ticket regardless of my decision?” Umeko pocketed the ticket as the pair neared the gym.

“Well of course! You are an honorary member after all!” Goshiki popped up in front of the pair just as they stepped into the gym. An adorable smile never left his face as he practically bounced on spot. “I'm so nervous. But so excited.” Goshiki’s eyes seemed to sparkle with anticipation.

“Speaking of, how about you? Are you excited for the art competition?” Oohira joined the conversation with a wave. Turns out, during the past two days the news of her upcoming art competition was spread to the team.

Umeko clasped her hands together tightly. “I’m really excited but super nervous as well. We are given a few hours to make the best presentation we can with the materials we bring in. The first year I participated I brought sculpting clay. It was a bit of a hassle so for my second year I brought large sketch paper.” Umeko paused for a moment and tapped her lips in thought. “This year I think I’ll bring in a canvas and paint.”

“Is painting your specialty?” Oohira asked. He had seen her draw plenty of times before, but he had never seen her paint.

“Oh, not at all!” Umeko laughed. “I think I'm best at drawing, but soap sculpting is probably a close second. In terms of painting I’d say I'm pretty decent at acrylics, but watercolors…” Umeko visibly deflated from either exasperation or resignation, “…Watercolors are very not my thing.”

“We all have something we aren’t good at. If you keep practicing, you’ll get it one day.” Semi gave her an encouraging smile. “Right?”

“I agree.” The group turned around to face Ushijima. He had just arrived at the gym a little later than usual. His voice was soft as he addressed Umeko. “I know you can do it.”

Umeko felt her face heat up and her ears turn bright red. “T-thank you.” Ever since she had accepted her feelings for Ushijima, Umeko seemed to become hyperaware of everything about him. As much as she tried, Umeko couldn’t quiet the incessant daydreams.

****

****

**_-_ ** **\----TWO DAYS LATER-----**

The day of the volleyball tournament arrived far too quickly. Umeko wasn’t able to take the bus since she wasn’t part of the cheer squad or the band, and of course she couldn’t ride with the team on their private bus. She was an honorary member, not an official member. 

With this in mind Umeko decided she would walk to the venue instead. With the power of google maps she realized that it wasn’t too far away by foot. Of course, it would still take much longer than if she were to take a vehicle, but it wasn’t a bad day to walk outside.

\------

A small boy sat in the back seat of a car and looked out the window. It felt like an eternity had passed but they were finally coming home after a long road trip. “Dad, are we there yet?” He huffed.

“Alex, we still have at least fifteen minutes left before we make it back home.”

“But, Dad!” Alex pouted and crossed his arms. “That’s ages!”

Alex’s dad never took his eyes off the road as he let his wife converse with their son. “Honey, it’s not that long. Besides, we’ll be there before you know it!”

\-----

Umeko hummed quietly as she walked slowly along the path. She still had a little while till the match started so there was no point in rushing. _Never thought I’d be doing anything like this. Sakuma’s the one who was invested in sports not me._ Umeko was never really one to follow any kind of sports so now that she was actively making a choice to go watch a game it seemed so absurd. If anyone had told her that she would become friends with the volleyball team she probably would have looked at them like they were crazy. Even more so if they were to say that she would want to go watch their match.

\------

The Shiratorizawa team strode inside the venue with a reigning confidence. It seemed that their very presence alone was able to elicit whispers and even stun some to silence. Whether they be good or bad -probably a mixture of both- the team paid no mind to them.

The sound of volleyball shoes squeaking on the court and chatter were drowned out by the sound of volleyballs being slammed into the ground. The Shiratorizawa third years shared one collective thought. _This is the last time we will be playing in this court._

\------

Alex grumbled as his mum tried to pacify him. “I want to be home already.”

“I know, just hold on for a little longer ok?” Alex’s dad yawned and rubbed his eyes, “We all want to be home already.” He stopped at a red light and turned to his son. “We already have gifts for your birthday prepared there too.”

Immediately Alex lit up. “Really?!” Although his birthday was technically tomorrow, they usually prepared the day before then held the celebration on the day. Sometimes if he was extra good, he was allowed to open one of his gifts the day before his birthday. “Will big sister be there too?”

“Yes” His dad chuckled then turned back to face the road. The light turned green and he began to drive forward once more.

“Like really, really?!”

His mother held back her own laughter. “Yes, really, really. She will meet us once we’re at home.” It always brought her joy to see her son smile. Her family was always her priority. _I've been blessed with a loving husband and two beautiful children._ She was especially glad that despite being years apart, her two children were as close as ever. _There is nothing else I could ask for._

Alex practically vibrated on spot as he heard the news. Since his sister graduated college and moved out, they didn’t see each other nearly as much as they used to, so he was definitely eager to get home. “Let’s get there super-duper fast!” He chirped happily.

\------

Umeko looked back on the memories when she first met the team. She remembered being scared of every single one of them. Nowadays she was much more sociable with not just the team but with other people in her class. She wasn’t sure how she would be if Tendou didn’t approach her.

Eventually her thoughts drifted to Ushijima. Despite spending a fair amount of time with Ushijima inside and outside of school she still wanted more. Umeko shook her head. “No. It’s not good to be too greedy.” She looked down to her phone then back up again. Finally, she could see the building she was supposed to go to.


	22. Choose One

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Maybe walking wasn't a good idea

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've always wanted to learn how to effectively procrastinate, I just never got around to it.
> 
> Happy Reading~

“Do you think Umeko is here yet?” Tendou tilted his head. While waiting for the match, the team opted to sit in the stands and wait for their turn to be called. As expected, the hall was filled with noise as people bustled about in front of them.

“I’m not sure. I don’t see her.” Goshiki looked around across all the stands, he squinted to see as far as possible. After a little while it was clear that there was no way he could see her. He could see the band, the cheer squad and a few other passersbys’ but no Umeko.

“Only an idiot would think they have a chance at spotting her from this distance. Do you honestly believe you will see her in that crowd?” Shirabu raised an eyebrow and scoffed. “Not only is she small but she is also easily overlooked in a group that big.” Shirabu gestured to the Shiratorizawa cheer squad.

Even Tendou had to agree to this statement. Before he became friends with Umeko he didn’t even know that she was in his class. It wasn’t just her height that made her hard to find, but it was also how she was able to make her presence almost vanish completely. If he was being honest, he didn’t really remember what her class introduction was. He side glanced to his best friend. At this point the only person who might be able to spot her was Ushijima. Tendou liked to believe it was the power of love and fate. It could just be that Ushijima was the most observant and had the best eyesight, but that wouldn’t be fun.

“Ume isn’t there.”

Goshiki turned to his captain with a shocked expression on his face. “How do you know?”

“I can find her anywhere and I know she isn’t in the cheer section.” Ushijima stated firmly. From when he first saw her, he had no difficulty spotting where she was in a crowd. Perhaps he was subconsciously searching for her at all times, but regardless, Umeko stood out to Ushijima so much so that he couldn’t tear his eyes away.

Tendou took out his phone and dialed Umeko’s number. He was curious if his best friend was right about her not being there. It didn’t take long for her to answer.

“Hello?”

“Umeko! Are you inside already?”

Tendou heard Umeko huff playfully, even without seeing her he knew that she had a smile on her face. “Not yet. Soon though, I can see the building already. I probably won’t have time to say hi before the game so could you tell everyone ‘good luck’ for me?” From the other side of the phone she heard Tendou relay her message to the group followed by a handful of thank yous’. “Anyway, I’ll be there soon, and I’ll talk to you back at school.

Tendou nodded despite Umeko not being able to see him “Mkayyyy, see you later then.”

\-------

Alex fidgeted in his seat. He wanted to make a request, but he wasn’t sure if he wanted to wait till tomorrow.

“Alex, do you have something you want to ask? You’ve been fidgeting again.” His mum smiled reassuringly.

“Um, can we get ice cream?”

“That sounds like a good idea!” Alex’s dad burst out in agreement.

She sighed in defeat to her two boys. “Yes, yes alright. We can get some from the convenience store in the gas station.”

Immediately Alex and his father perked up in excitement before they made a detour. “I’ll wait by the car. You can go on and choose what you like.” Without hesitation Alex and his mother hopped out of the vehicle and walked into the store.

Alex’s dad huffed to hold back his smile _. I must have done something right in my past life for me to have married the love of my life and have two adorable children with her._ He got out of his car and began to pump gas as he was left with his thoughts.

\-----

Umeko put her phone in her pocket and walked just a little faster to get to her destination. She felt both anxious but excited to watch her friends play. She hadn’t really done much to help the team out so the very least she could do was support them.

Umeko heard quiet chatter from -what she assumed- was mother and son. They were laughing brightly holding three ice creams in their hands. Umeko suddenly looked up when she heard a screeching of tires. An out of control car was speeding towards the trio.

“Look out!”

\------

The referee blew the whistle to indicate the start of the lineup and pre-match huddle. The Shiratorizawa team did not expect to be against Karasuno in the championships. Rather, no one except the Karasuno team themselves expected anything from the fallen powerhouse school. Ushijima’s eyes hardened with determination as he glanced at the rest of his teammates. They too shared the same goal and expression as he did. They all knew not to underestimate Karasuno, there was a reason they were in the finals.

He closed his eyes for a moment of silence before he turned around and opened them. “We will win.” His words were not a request nor mere speculation. It was a statement and a fact. _Shiratorizawa won’t lose._

\-------

Umeko noticed the car coming at them before the parent-child combination did. “Look out!” At this rate the car would hit all three of them and crash at the gas pumps.

Adrenaline flooded her system; all could hear was the heartbeat pounding in her chest as if it were trying to get out. She had no obligation to help. Umeko could have just backed up and she would have been safe but instead she found herself arm outstretched and running forward instead of back. Her limbs seemed to move on their own before she could come to a rational decision of what to do. _Please make it in time!_

\-------

The sound of volleyball shoes squeaking against the floor seemed to intensify with the cheers of the audience. The players ran faster to keep the ball in play. Faster than Oohira could react, the ball suddenly flew past him. Just before the ball could hit the floor of Shiratorizawa’s side of the court, Ushijima dashed over and managed to save the ball in time.

“Send it here.” He immediately regained his footing and dashed forward.

Shirabu was shocked by his sudden demand but was more than happy to do it. As soon as the ball touched his hands, he directed it to Ushijima with his fingers.

Ushijima leapt up with his left hand pulled back. With practiced power and accuracy, he slammed the ball into a spike and easily broke Karasuno’s three-man block. The score was now eleven to twenty, with Shiratorizawa in the lead.

\-------

Umeko’s muscles felt like they were on fire, she only needed to be just a little bit faster. A chilling feeling cooled the burning sensation. _I can only reach one._ Umeko felt the wisp of cloth between her fingers. _I can’t help both._ Umeko grabbed the fabric and pulled back with all her remaining strength. _I’m sorry._

Her chest felt constricted as she pulled the body in close. She had just chosen which person to save and who to let die. It was an awful feeling. She wanted to quell the hammering in her chest but to no avail.

**_I chose to save the child. I chose to abandon the mother._ **

The mother turned and met eyes with Umeko. “Thank you” Alex’s mother knew her time was up. it was too late to move now that she had noticed the car.

Umeko covered the boy’s eyes and shut her own tightly. A flurry of glass shards cut at Umeko’s arms as she shielded the boy. A sudden burst of heat caused the pair to tumble backwards and into a pole. Umeko felt the cold metal collide with her back and head. Suddenly she felt disconnected from everything that was going on. She didn’t dare open her eyes because she could hear the pain of someone being burned alive.

The last thing she remembered was holding a small trembling boy tightly in her arms.

\--------

Umeko groaned and winced at the throbbing pain along her spine and the back of her head. She cursed internally as she opened her eyes. “W-where?” Her voice felt groggy in her throat as she tried to speak.

“Umeko? Umeko! My baby! You are awake!” Umeko’s mother came rushing in and held on tightly to her daughter. “I was so worried when I heard you were in hospital.” Tears fell from her eyes as she began to sob once more.

Umeko relaxed into the hug. “I’m sorry for worrying you.” Not even a second later Umeko’s eyes widened. “The boy! The boy, is he alright!?” Umeko asked frantically. She wanted him to at least be safe.

“Don’t worry, cuddle-bug.” Her father walked into the room with a doctor following behind him. His eyes were red from his own tears. When it came to appearance Umeko resembled her father. The only difference being that Umeko’s hair had come from her mother. “They boy is fine. Just a few scratches but otherwise he is alright.” Mr. Akiyama gently pet his daughter’s head.

Umeko sighed in relief. _Thank goodness._

“Mr. and Mrs. Akiyama, I’ll need you to release your daughter for a few moments while I check her vitals.” The doctor smiled reassuringly. The examination began and it was then time itself seemed to stop.

**_“Miss Akiyama, can you [------] this?”_ **

**_“No. Why can’t [-------]”_**

**_“You mean to say Umeko… [-------]”_ **

**_“Our cuddle-bug [---------] anymore?”_ **

**_“[--------], right?”_ **


	23. Missing

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Trying to find Umeko

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I got lost in your eyes. But I also get lost in most department stores, so I wouldn't read too much into it.
> 
> Enjoy!

“Has anyone seen Umeko?” Tendou tottered around the gym searching high and low in an almost comical manner.

There was a chorus of responses, all of them however led up to one answer. No. The team continued to collect the balls after they had finished their serving drills. It had already been an hour since they returned on campus but there was still no sign of her.

“Maybe she fell asleep in her dorm room?” Kawanishi suggested.

“I don’t think so.” Shirabu furrowed his eyebrows then took out his phone to check for any text messages. After she had revealed her time travel secret to him, Umeko had insisted that they exchange phone numbers. Shirabu agreed - much to his future dismay. _There is no way she is asleep. She doesn’t sleep till three in the morning._ There were more than a few texts he had received during that ungodly hour from her as proof. As far as he was aware, she had never fallen asleep before eleven in the evening. _No text messages from her. How odd._

This time Ushijima hastily snuck a quick glance at his phone. He also didn’t receive a message from her. While they didn’t always text each other frequently he knew that Umeko wasn’t the sort of person to make a promise to meet then break it without good reason. Ushijima felt a sense of foreboding but quickly dismissed it. He put his phone away and looked back to face the team. _Where could she be?_

“I’ll call her.” Tendou chirped as he held his phone up. Two rings passed then three then straight to voicemail.

“Hello! This is Umeko. I’m probably pretty busy right now so uh, can you call back later? Or text! Texting is better actually. Please leave a message after the beep!”

He was slightly shocked that Umeko didn’t answer, usually she would pick up right away. He called once more, and the same thing happened. “I guess she is asleep. She didn’t answer her phone.”

\----------

“Cuddle-bug…” Mr. Akiyama sat beside his daughter on the bed and pulled her into a hug. “You heard what the doctor said. It’s possible with surgery.”

“B-but…” She let out a single sob that eventually became a torrent of tears once more. The hospital room was as devoid of beauty as Umeko was of hope. There was no decoration at all save the limp curtain that separated her bed from the three others inside. It was perhaps once the kind of green that reminded people of springtime and hope, but it faded so much that the hue was instead insipid and sickening.

“Do you think you can tell us what happened? From your perspective?” Mrs. Akiyama sat on the opposite side of the bed and gently held Umeko’s hand.

Umeko nodded. “If I'm being honest, it feels as if this all happened to someone else. It felt like perhaps, I witnessed the scene in a movie one time. The noise, mangled metal, and injuries are what kept it real for me." Umeko sighed weakly as she closed her eyes. She remembered the heat from the fire, the cold metal on her skin and the shattered glass slicing at her. At the time the pain had brought Umeko to the point of blacking out, but according to the ambulance staff, she was in and out of consciousness during the whole ride to the hospital.

As soon as Umeko saw a faint outline of a woman her eyes snapped open. She didn’t want to see her, the woman she couldn’t save. She began to recount what had happened. It was her hope that perhaps if she talked about it, then the burden would be easier to bear.

\----------

Alex clutched his sister tightly, both of them inconsolable. In the span of just a few hours both their parents had died in an accident. “M-mum and D-dad...” his voice was hoarse from his desolate wails. A sound so much in despair that it shook the world around him.

Alex’s sister couldn’t stop her own tears as she tried her best to comfort her little brother. Her sobs weren’t very loud, but the pain that flowed from her was palpable. She urged herself to stay strong for her little brother but with the waves of pain that relentlessly crashed over the pair it was hard to even breathe. “At least we still have each other.” _I feel so selfish, but I don’t want to lose you too._

At first Alex felt anger that the person who saved him didn’t save his mum too, but that emotion soon turned into sorrow. Truthfully, he knew that it was already a miracle that he was able to survive. _If that person didn’t pull me back…_ He shuddered at the thought. His sister was right. All they had now was each other. Alex closed his eyes; he had no images of either parent’s death since his eyes were covered. Only the happy last few memories of his family came to mind. In his thoughts there was no blood, no accident and no fire, only a colorful field of flowers and blue skies.

****

****

**_-_ ** **\----ONE DAY LATER-----**

Shirabu frowned at his phone. He hadn’t received any text messages from Umeko since yesterday and that in itself was concerning. Since Umeko had received Shirabu’s number she would - every day without fail- send him at least one text message, but this time he hadn’t heard anything from her.

**_Shirabu:_ ** _You didn’t show up yesterday._

He was about to send one more message asking if she was alright before he discarded that idea and changed his message last minute.

**_Shirabu:_ ** _Where were you?_

Shirabu slipped his phone back in his pocket. There were plenty of reasonable explanations for why she wasn’t replying. Maybe she was sick, her phone could have died or maybe she just turned her phone off. Somehow it wouldn’t surprise him if she did. _Tendou will probably see her in class today anyway._

\-------

The fourth unofficial member of The Thousand Cranes club walked soundlessly into an empty room. They looked around and frowned when they realized there was no one else in the room. It was a sight that they weren’t familiar with. _She is usually here by now._ They sat and continued to fold while they got lost in their thoughts. The pair had met in the beginning of their first year and only shared a few words, but it was completely unexpected that Umeko never took the effort to look up and see who she was talking to.

“Oh? Look who it is. I don’t usually see you here.” Sakuma’s eyes widened. “Don’t you usually leave by now?”

“Yes.” The fourth member stood up.

“Woah, woah! Dude, I wasn’t kicking you out or anything I was just surprised.” Sakuma put his own belongings away and took out a stack of blue paper. “It’s been a while since we’ve talked.”

“It has been.” There was a long silence, with only the crinkling of paper to be heard.

\--------

Tendou burst through the door filled with an abundance of enthusiasm, the reason being is that there was a brand-new chapter out of the manga he was reading. “Umeko!” He turned to face her table. He needed to share how excited he was to another person. “Ah?” He tilted his head as he saw an empty desk and chair. There was five minutes till class started and she wasn’t yet present. _Maybe she’s sick?_

****

****

**_-_ ** **\----TWO DAYS LATER-----**

It had been three days since any of the team had seen or even heard from Umeko. Once practice was over and Shirabu was changed and ready to go, he began his walk to the girls’ dorm. It had been a while since he went over to visit, at the very least he could check if she was in her room.

“As I recall, that isn’t the way to our dorm.” Tendou appeared in front of Shirabu with a sly grin on his face. “Bring me along too!” He chirped. Tendou already knew where Shirabu was heading. It was obvious at this point. He was going to visit Umeko’s dorm room. “I thought about visiting yesterday but I didn’t know what her room number was.”

“I’m coming too.” Ushijima’s voice came from behind the two other boys. He wasn’t aware that Shirabu had a close enough relationship to Umeko that he knew her room number.

Shirabu sighed, defeated. He wasn’t planning on bringing anyone along let alone two people. “Alright. Let’s get this over with.”

The three boys walked side by side with Ushijima in the center. “How do you know her room number?”

“I visit her occasionally, so I ended up remembering the number.”

****

****

**_-_ ** **\----TEN MINUTES LATER-----**

Tendou had finished signing into the visitors log before turning to Shirabu. “You said occasionally?”

Ushijima looked through the logs while he too signed in. According to the logs ‘occasionally’ seemed to be every other day at least. The number of times Shirabu visited -according to the sign in sheet- would be better described as frequently.

The trio walked through the bare white hallways, the only color being the floor and doors which were accented with a deep purple. “This is it.” Shirabu stopped at a door and knocked a few times.

“Umeko, are you in there?”


	24. Unfinished Art

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Umeko is finally discharged from the hospital

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Autocorrect can go to he'll 
> 
> Enjoy!

After knocking multiple times and getting no response it was safe to assume that Umeko was either asleep or not in the room.

“What are you three boys doing outside of Akiyama’s door? I can hear you from down the hallway. Must you insist on being so loud.” Hashimoto crossed her arms then narrowed her eyes at Shirabu. “Shouldn’t you know better, Time-travel boy? We already discussed this the first day we met.”

Shirabu felt his eye twitch at the nickname, it wasn’t any surprise that he wasn’t fond of it. Somehow a few girls managed to tune into the one and only time he jokingly claimed to be a time traveler. Since then, the rumors spread like wildfire. It only took two days till all the girls knew about him, the time-traveler boy who went into the past to find his true love. Shirabu wanted to gag just from just the thought. “We wanted to visit her since she hasn’t been to class or answered her phone.” He responded equally hostile and just as calm.

“She isn’t here. Akiyama hasn’t been in the dorms for three days now.” Hashimoto saw the three boys in front of her visibly deflate. She sighed, “She might be back tomorrow, but I don’t know exactly when. And don’t ask me what happened, I don’t know either.” Hashimoto immediately turned tail and left without any other word.

\---------

Umeko winced and bit back her tears. Post-surgery pain felt awful. She looked at her phone sitting on the bedside table. She had received so many messages and even a few calls but never answered any of them. It had reached a point where she no longer felt like she deserved their concern. She did consider replying but she couldn’t bring herself to do it. Umeko didn’t want to lie and say everything was fine when it wasn’t. _Just a few days ago everything was alright, but now look._ Umeko furrowed her eyebrows as her memories drifted back to that day. The only thing that was as scary as the accident itself.

_~~~_

_“Miss Akiyama, can you feel this?”_

_“No. Why can’t I feel my hand?”_

_“Can you open and close your hand into a fist?” The doctor continued._

_Umeko did as told. Or at least attempted to. A sudden panic settled into her. She couldn’t move her hand. “I-I can’t move it…I-I’m trying but it isn’t working!”_

_The doctor pursed his lips at Umeko’s distress. He was worried that the injury from the accident would do something like this. While it wasn’t the worst possible outcome it was still pretty bad. “From what I can tell, it seems like the laceration on your arm has damaged your tendons.”_

_“You mean to say Umeko… can’t use her right hand anymore?”_

_“Our cuddle-bug… is it just the fingers or the whole hand?”_

_“My fingers, I can only move my ring finger…” Umeko’s voice trembled as she fought to keep herself calm, “T-There’s no way, right?”_

_Mr. Akiyama ran his fingers through his hair. He was at a loss and didn’t know what to do. His precious cuddle-bug treasured her hands more than anything because she loved art, but now she couldn’t even move all her fingertips. “Doctor, is there a way to fix this? Surely, there is a way, right?”_

_Mrs. Akiyama nodded in agreement with her husband._

_“I recommend surgery. After a few days we can discharge you, so you can continue your studies. I’d say physical therapy would start a little over a week after that.”_

_“How long till it's fully healed…?” Umeko’s voice was but a soft murmur that could have been lost in the room._

_“Twelve weeks for your hand to return to full strength and six months for you to regain full movement. It could be earlier though depending on your recovery speed. During that time, it’ll be crucial for you to continue the therapy even if your hand hurts or feels numb.” The Doctor took a deep breath before he continued. “But if I'm being honest. The chances of you being able to use your hand with as much precision as before is slim to none. To be completely upfront with you, looking at your injuries, you will probably never regain feeling in some of your fingers. Your future as an artist… I’m sorry.”_

_“Why are you apologizing? It’s not your fault.” There was a long heavy silence that covered the room in a dark blanket._ The competition would be in nine weeks. _Should I just give up?_

~~~

Umeko felt like she wanted to cry. She knew that other people had it worse. That little boy definitely was one of them but even still, she felt so pitiful and she hated it. _If I didn’t save him… No. I can’t say that._ Umeko fought back her tears and wiped them away frustrated _. I don’t regret saving him. A life in exchange for an injury, it’s an easy choice to make._

**_-_ ** **\----ONE DAY LATER-----**

Ushijima let out a long sigh as he got out of the shower. His entire morning run was off rhythm, but he still trudged through it to continue his routine. He checked his phone for notifications after he changed and got ready for the day.

Ushijima wasn’t counting, but he himself knew that over the past few days he had checked his phone more times than he had in an entire month. He had thought of texting Umeko so many times before, but every time he typed a message, he wasn’t able to press send. It was like what he typed wasn’t enough to convey what he felt. Ushijima found himself so distracted by her and she wasn’t even present.

“What should I do…” he slipped his phone in his pocket. He usually would have played volleyball or finished some schoolwork, but the gym was closed, and it was a beautiful Saturday.

\--------

It was the fourth day and Umeko was finally discharged. Her parents -as expected- worried and fussed over her making sure that she would be ok. After a rather tearful goodbye on her parent’s part, Umeko walked back into the school and almost ran back to her dorm room.

Thanks to it being early morning on a weekend, most of the students were still asleep which allowed Umeko to stealthily make it back to her dorm room without fuss. She pushed the door open with her left hand and let it close on its own as soon as she entered. Her room was the same as when she left, though it would be unsettling if it did change.

Her eyes drifted over to her desk, and a half finished drawing lay flat on her table as if it were daring her to complete it. Umeko grit her teeth as she felt her heart squeeze, it wasn’t fair. Umeko tried to pick up the pencil only to have it fall out of her hands and hit the floor with a clatter. Though the sound was quiet, it seemed to fill the silence of the room that spoke volumes. _I can’t even hold a pencil._ Umeko’s eyes watered and she picked up the pencil with her left hand. This time she placed the pencil in her right hands and closed her fingers around it. An electrifying sting buzzed through her body as she urged herself to try and draw.

Umeko dropped the pencil after a few seconds. She repeated the process over and over again hoping for a different result. She continued her futile efforts till the tip of the pencil broke. “W-why…” Angry tears of frustration rolled down her cheeks and landed on her unfinished drawing. Truthfully, she knew the reason why, but she didn’t want to accept it. Umeko crumpled the paper up in her left hand and threw it away.

_"Your future as an artist… I’m sorry.”_

Though the Doctor didn’t say it in words, his expression and apology were enough for her to understand the implications, there was no future for her. _What’s the point in having passion if I can’t achieve the skill?_ Those thoughts alone shook Umeko to her core.

\--------

Ushijima rubbed his eyes as he finished his last assignment. It was almost lunch time and after finishing all his tasks he felt hungrier than usual. He pulled out his phone once more, “Today, I will text Ume.” He mumbled out loud to strengthen his resolve.

**_Ushijima:_ ** _Hello_

**_Ushijima_ ** _: I haven’t seen nor heard from you in a while. No one has. I hope you are safe, please let us know if you can. We are all worried for you. It has been a long four days and it seems rather empty not to see you sitting on the bench._

**_Ushijima:_ ** _Perhaps we did something to make you feel uncomfortable? If so, tell us and we will rectify our behavior or explain our actions._

Ushijima groaned at his own text that he just sent. _Perhaps I was too forward?_ He fretted over his text now that it had already been sent. He searched for typos of any kind or missing punctuation. In a rash last-minute decision, he sent one more impulsive text.

**_Ushijima:_ ** _I miss you._


	25. Leave No Regrets

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Umeko and Ushijima reunite

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wanna hear a pizza joke? Nah, nevermind, it's too cheesy. What about a construction joke? Oh wait, not that either, I'm still working on that one.
> 
> Happy Reading

Umeko awoke with a start. _Nightmares again._ Since that day she would have nightmares about the accident, to say it was every day was a stretch but most days she would find her nights fitful. It was a churning feeling of guilt that stewed within her small frame. Umeko remembered the woman’s last words with startling clarity.

_“Thank you”_

“You shouldn’t be thanking me; I couldn’t save you.” Umeko whimpered. Grief laced her words as she spoke to an empty room.

Whenever Umeko would let her mind drift for too long, she would see the expression that was on the woman’s face before she died. It was a resigned smile that hid an unimaginable amount of fear and dread behind it.

Umeko knew her limits. She was aware she wasn’t going to be able to save both the parent and the child; she just didn’t have the physical capabilities for that, but sometimes she would find herself wondering what would have happened if she did. Would she be able to save them both? What if she had just noticed the car sooner? If she reached out just a little farther? What if she saved the parent instead of the child?

She quickly dismissed those thoughts once more then rubbed her eyes. They were red and swollen from crying despite taking a long nap. It wasn’t a very refreshing nap, but it was better than uselessly crying all day. Umeko didn’t cry in the hospital after her initial breakdown, she was too shocked to cry, but now that she was alone in her room she couldn’t seem to stop.

Umeko turned towards her desk and grimaced at the mess she left behind. There were crumbled balls of paper scattered around the disordered pens. The pencils lay in disarray, abandoned from her earlier struggles, the only thing left untouched was the soap sculpture of the volleyball court and the watercolor pens.

Umeko sighed and got out of bed. “Perhaps I can fold with one hand…” She was desperately looking for things she could do with one hand, something in the art field that is. As long as it kept her mind off the accident.

****

****

**_-_ ** **\----ONE HOUR LATER-----**

It had taken a considerable amount of time before Umeko managed to enter the club room. She felt so helpless, even changing clothes was a struggle. She looked around the empty clubroom and walked to her cubby. It was late afternoon but there was still enough sunlight that she didn’t need to turn on the lights. Umeko pulled out colorful origami paper with her left hand and set it on her desk. Before she started to fold, she looked out the window. During her stay in the hospital she had spent hours looking out the window. The world just seemed less colorful than how it used to look, the sky didn’t seem as limitless, even the birds didn’t sound as pretty.

Umeko sighed and took her seat at the table. She would be lying if she said she wasn’t terrified about starting. What if she started and realized she couldn’t even fold? Umeko wasn’t even sure that she wanted to know if she could fold with one hand. _Maybe I’ll try it with two…_

Umeko winced at the sharp pain then prickling sensation from her right hand as she tried to use it. It was a horrible feeling, not being able to control your own hand but it was even worse to not be able to feel two fingers. Between numbness and pain, she wasn’t sure which one was the lesser of the two evils.

Despite the discomfort Umeko refused to stop her attempts at folding. Her eyes glossed over but no tears were shed. _Just one crane. Please just one…_ Each uneven fold was a painstakingly long process that resulted in jolts of pain and crumpled paper.

“You’re back.” A deep voice muttered from the entrance then rushed over to the table. It was the fourth unofficial member of the club.

Umeko completely ignored the person’s remark and continued her efforts in vain.

The owner of the voice stared Umeko down but refused to sit. “Where did you disappear off to?” Their eyes landed on Umeko’s bandaged hand. “What happened?”

Her tears started to fall on the paper, but Umeko stubbornly refused to even acknowledge the other person’s presence.

“Umeko! Do you know how worried we all were?”

Umeko flinched at the sudden loudness then pursed her lips together. Her tongue felt dry and her throat felt as if someone had thrust powder inside, she didn’t want to talk, she knew what she was guilty of. The voice was familiar, but she had never heard it so full of desperation. The owner of the voice sighed then ever so gently moved their hand under her chin so they could pull Umeko’s vision up to them. Her body complied to the movement then her eyes flitted up to see who it was. After three years of not bothering to look at the fourth member, when her eyes met his, Umeko wasn’t sure if she was relieved or shocked. “It’s you…”

“Who else would it be?” Ushijima wiped the tear streaks off her cheek with his thumbs. He didn’t miss how her eyes seemed to be glacier blue under a glossy sheen of water, constant, yet allowing the tears to flow without pause. “Please, tell me what’s wrong.”

In that moment, in seeing her own pain reflected in his eyes she wasn’t sure if she was even permitted to have someone care about her so much. Umeko scoffed instead and moved her face out of his hands. “What does it matter to you?” She got up from her seat with the intention to walk out.

“Because I care about you.” Ushijima's voice remained quiet as he controlled his volume as not to push her into a corner.

Words began to fly out of Umeko’s mouth that she herself never thought she would even think of, let alone say out loud. “I don’t want your half-baked pity. You wouldn’t understand even if I told you.” She hissed. “In just four days, everything somehow managed to spiral downhill.”

Ushijima’s words were cautious as he held firmly to her gaze. “Then, will you tell me what happened?”

Tears of frustration and anger spilled through their floodgates once more. “I-I can’t do anything.” Her feelings of helplessness were ever growing as her anger was directed at herself. _If only I was faster. If only I noticed sooner. If only this never happened. If only…_ Umeko knew there was no point in looking to the past, there was no way to rectify what had occurred. “I can’t fold, I can’t draw, I can’t even hold a pencil!” Her volume continuously grew louder. “I’ll never be able to feel some of my fingers ever again, even the doctor said it’d be better to just choose a different career path and….and…despite getting this injured, I couldn’t even save them both!”

Ushijima wasn’t sure about the details, but he got the general gist of Umeko’s misery, except one part. “What do you mean save them both?”

“There was a car accident.” Umeko’s bottom lip quivered from the memory. “On the way to the venue I was walking behind this mother and son pair.” Umeko looked down as a wave of shame washed over her. “Even though I noticed the car early I couldn’t move fast enough to save both people who were in front of me. I-I managed to pull the boy back in time...”

“…But not the mother.” Ushijima finished for her.

Umeko simply nodded. Before she angrily wiped away her tears in haste. “But you know what’s worse? I feel so horribly pitiful about myself when I shouldn’t be!” Her tears turned into quiet sobs that shook her entire body. “The boy lost both his parents; in comparison my troubles are much more trivial.” She sucked in a shaky breath. “If only I was just a bit faster, if only I could have noticed a little bit sooner… do you think she would have lived?”

‘If only...’ when put together they were some of the saddest words known to man. There was no changing the past no matter how much you wish it to be different. No matter how many scenarios are thought of, there is no way to change what has already happened.

Ushijima’s eyebrows furrowed together, his thoughts piecing the parts in place. “I don’t know.” Ushijima noticed her body seem to curl in on itself before he continued. “But, what I do know is that rather than losing both, is it not better to save at least one?” There was a long pause where the sound of quiet sniffling filled the room. “Do you regret saving him?”

“No. I don’t regret it…b-but-”

“No buts. That’s what happened, that is already an unchangeable fact.” Ushijima walked closer to Umeko till he was only a forearm’s length away. “While it may not seem like a similar value, I know the importance you have for your hands, for you it’s the equivalent to your future. So, it’s ok to feel sorry for yourself as long as you can pick yourself back up again.” He pulled her into a tight embrace. “You did your best.”

The smell of peaches was almost overwhelming as she buried her face in his chest, she felt the warmth of the hug as she wrapped her arms around him just as tight. Umeko wasn’t able to hold back her sobbing, her small frame trembled but was held steady. She had no words to retort to his reassurance. “T-thank you.” Umeko clung onto Ushijima like a lifeline while he rubbed her back gently. At this moment he was a pillar of strength that she needed to hold on.

Ushijima simply smiled then kissed the top of her head. _You’re welcome, Ume._


	26. Welcome Back

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Everyone is reunited!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> How do snowmen travel? They ride an icicle!
> 
> Enjoy!

After an additional thirty minutes of crying Umeko’s tears finally ran out which left her eyes red and her nose runny. She sniffed a few times and stood still while she allowed the events of the day to sink in. _Hold on. Ushijima is in the clubroom?! So that means…_ Umeko attempted a futile effort to wriggle out of Ushijima’s embrace. It became apparent very soon that he had no intention to release her, Umeko settled for a compromise and shifted slightly so she could move her head out of his chest and turn to face him. “So, if you’re in here, that means you’re the fourth unofficial member?”

Ushijima locked eyes with her and spoke without hesitation. “Yes”

“Why didn’t you tell me!?” Umeko huffed. “You have been coming to this clubroom since we were first years, you must have known what I look like at least.”

“I thought you already knew it was me.” He gave her a sly smile that looked more like a smirk, “Unless of course you didn’t look up for three years.”

Umeko blushed embarrassed. “W-well, I thought I’d be better if I respected your privacy.” She lied through her teeth rather unconvincingly.

Ushijima hummed and nodded while he played along. “Sure, you did.”

Umeko pouted and hid her face in Ushijima’s chest again. She closed her sore eyes and listened to the sound of his heart beating. It was strangely comforting if anything. The smell of peaches, the rumble of his voice and the gentle thumps from his heart.

“You didn’t seem surprised it was me.”

Umeko smiled -not that Ushijima could see- and waited a second to compile her answer. “Once I was acquainted with you it was much easier. The timings of the games, the pitch of your voice and your shadow.” Honestly at the beginning Umeko wasn’t completely sure if her guess was right, but maybe just maybe if she was lucky, it would be exactly who she wanted it to be.

Ushijima loosened his grip on Umeko, he didn’t want to crush her on accident. “What do you mean by my shadow?”

“Whenever anyone comes into this room, because of the lighting a long shadow is cast on the floor. Thanks to this I can roughly guess who is coming in without having to look at the person.” Umeko huffed proudly then wiped up her mess of a face with her sleeves. “It just took me a while before I noticed it was your shadow, but even then, I was so scared of being wrong that I never looked up to confirm.”

“Does that mean if I didn’t make you look up you wouldn’t have?” Ushijima moved his face closer to hers, so their noses touched. “That hurts my feelings” He teased playfully.

Umeko’s face heated up till it was a bright shade of pink that reached all the way up to her ears, “W-well, I-I um…didn’t” Her words tumbled out in a jumble as she attempted to find a response. In her flustered state there was no way she could think of anything other than how close they were.

_I waited three years for you to look up towards me._ Ushijima remembered the first time he saw her. At first, he was relieved that she didn’t look up, they could keep their anonymity and sit in comfortable silence. As time passed, he grew curious, greedy almost, Ushijima wanted to know more about the girl who sat opposite him. Thanks to some deductive reasoning on his part, Ushijima was able to find out her name and class but much to his dismay nothing else. During his second year he wondered what color her eyes were, what she liked to do in her spare time and everything in between. _It took three years but now I know those things._ At this point there was no need to deny nor be ignorant of his own feelings, he had fallen hard for her. Ushijima smiled to himself then moved his face away and released her from his hug.

Umeko eyed him suspiciously once she got her blush under control. “What are you smiling about?”

“That’s a secret. I’ll tell you when it’s time.”

****

****

**_-_ ** **\----TWO DAYS LATER-----**

“Umeko! You’re back in class!” Tendou rose from his seat and practically skipped over to Umeko.

Since Umeko arrived back on campus and met with Ushijima, she hadn’t made contact with any other members of the team. She figured that she might as well wait till Monday when school was back in session. “Yeah, sorry for disappearing.” Umeko fiddled with her fingers and looked down apologetically.

Tendou bent down so his face was eye level with hers. “We’ll I'm glad you came back.” He hummed in approval before he led Umeko to her seat. “Will you tell me what happened?” He tilted his head and gestured to Umeko’s bandaged right hand.

Umeko self-consciously pulled her hand behind her back. “Oh, well can I do it after school? Like before you all have practice. That way I can just say the story once and not have to repeat it.”

“Mkay!” He chirped, undeterred by her reluctance.

****

****

**_-_ ** **\----AFTERSCHOOL-----**

Umeko took a deep breath before she walked into the gym. For some reason the action seemed far more daunting that anything she had done all day. _What if they are mad? I probably upset them. Is it still ok for me to be in here? What if I'm just intruding?_ Umeko’s thoughts went a mile a minute which drowned out most other sounds.

“Ume.” Ushijima tried to get Umeko’s attention to no avail. “Umeko.” He carefully tapped her cheek to bring her thoughts back down to earth. “You are overthinking for no reason.”

“S-sorry” Umeko hastily looked forward towards the court and the other team members.”

Shirabu’s eyes widened as he ran towards the two entering students. _Is that…?_ “Umeko!” As soon as he got to the pair, he collected himself trying to look like he hadn’t just run towards them from across the gym. “Why didn’t you let us know you were ok?” He pinched the bridge of his nose then sighed. “We were all worried, idiot.” Shirabu was relieved that Umeko looked healthy enough -barring the injured hand- but he decided not to bring that up. If she wasn’t ready to tell them then there was no point in prying it out of her.

The rest of the team were quick to notice Shirabu running towards the door and they too followed along once they identified who the people were. They -coach included- had grown fond of their ‘honorary member’ so they were excited to see her again, especially after she had ghosted them.

Much to Umeko’s surprise she was welcomed back with open arms. To be honest she expected the team to be upset or angry even, she did cause a lot of stress and worry. “I’m sorry I didn’t message you all sooner.”

Oohira sighed and gently pet the top of her head. “Don’t worry about it, I'm sure you had your own things going on. If there is a next time, we would like to know that you are ok though.”

Semi nodded in agreement. “Just don’t vanish without warning and we’ll call it even.” Semi gave her a reassuring smile.

“I promise.” She gave the team a smile. Though it was just a wisp it was more than she had done in the past few days. _I missed them._

Kawanishi was the next to speak. He decided to take the fall and ask the hard question. “So, what happened?” All the other team members had noticed the injury, but no one had made any indications that they were going to ask about it.”

****

****

**_-_ ** **\----ONE STORY LATER-----**

“And that’s it.” Umeko had told the team the less tear jerking, abbreviated version of the story. “But it’ll heal soon! So that’s good.” She purposely left out the part where she wouldn’t be able to feel some of her fingers again. Umeko wanted to find a way to move on from that state of mind and to do that would mean not wallowing in self-pity or pity from others.

Oohira furrowed his eyebrows. “The competition, are you still going to compete?”

“Yes.” There was no hesitation in her voice and there was determination in her eyes. Despite what happened and what the doctor had told her, Umeko still wanted to pursue something in the arts. Besides, if Beethoven could compose while being completely deaf, who’s to say that she couldn’t pursue art with a few numb fingers.

“It’s just like you to cause trouble.”

The entire team stiffened up when they heard the voice. “Coach!”

The elderly man huffed and glared at his team, “It’s time to start. Go.” Without hesitation the boys ran off and began their warm up routine, once all the players were out of earshot, the Coach’s glare landed on Umeko. “And you, if you are going to cause trouble then warn us beforehand. We have all grown accustomed to your presence, so it’d be a distraction if you weren’t seated in your usual spot.” He shook his head then began to walk back to his seat. “Don’t test your luck again.”

Umeko stood stunned trying to unload what the Coach had just scolded her for. While there were some mixed signals it was clear that the Coach was just as pleased as the team was to find that Umeko had returned. _Ah, I’ve met some very kind people._

“Well, are you coming?”

Umeko smiled broadly for the first time in over a week. “Yes, Coach!”


	27. Rest Day

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A lil bit of fluff <3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't have a solution but I do admire the problem.
> 
> Happy reading!

Umeko grumbled as she examined the drawing she had just completed. Over the course of a week she had improved drastically. Umeko could now hold things without dropping them -which was already an exciting thing in itself- and she could also draw some simple items to a recognizable degree. Of course, some days were better than others, on the days that her hand would hurt Umeko could barely bring herself to hold anything, but on the days where her hands were numb, she was considerably better off.

“Ume, do you need to take a break?” Ushijima looked up from what he was doing at the sound of Umeko’s distress. Since the pair entered the clubroom that morning, Umeko’s determination seemed to be unwavering, though after a few hours it was clear that her willpower was not as high as she thought.

“Maybe just a little” She whimpered in defeat. Her hand had started hurting a couple hours into the day but Umeko attempted to continue despite the pain -which she had discovered was not a good idea no matter how motivated she was. “Maybe just a little walk or something.”

Ushijima finished making his last crane and moved it into the unnamed cubby. “I recommend you get some sleep. You look tired.” He stated in a matter-of-fact manner.

Truthfully Umeko couldn’t really refute his statement, she wasn’t sleeping as well or as long as before, and it was clearly starting to take a toll on her body. Between the occasional nightmares and restlessness, it was difficult. “But I don’t wanna nap” she pouted. “Besides, sleep and I aren’t friends anymore.”

Ushijima sighed then smoothly hoisted her up in his arms, he didn’t say anything as he held her tightly princess style and walked out of the room and through the campus.

“W-wait! Put me down.” Umeko tried to squirm out of his arms but to no avail, they both knew who the stronger person was, and it definitely wasn’t Umeko. “Where are you taking me?” She decided that instead of fighting it she would just accept her fate. The more noise she made the more likely other students who were outside would turn their attention on her.

“To your room so you can sleep.”

Umeko covered her face with both hands in a poor attempt to hide her flustered appearance. “N-no you can’t do that. That’s not allowed. You can’t go in. I-it’s messy right now.”

“You let Shirabu in.”

“This and that are two very different things!” Umeko desperately tried to discourage him from the idea.

“I don’t think so.” Ushijima deadpanned without hesitation. His walking speed didn’t falter as he neared the dorm building.

“You just can’t”

“Why?” He challenged. Ushijima knew that if he just left her to her own devices Umeko probably wouldn’t sleep and the whole purpose of bringing her back was so she could rest.

Umeko mumbled her answer feeling the heat in her cheeks rise even higher. “B-because Shirabu is a friend, and...and you are different from that.” She wanted to hide in embarrassment, though her current predicament would not allow that. Umeko just hoped that somehow Ushijima would understand where she was getting at, there was no way she could let her crush just walk into her room!

Ushijima suddenly stopped. “I see.” His face had a faint dusting of pink as he considered all the possible implications. He hoped it was the more positive version where she was just conscious of him and not the negative version where he didn’t even classify as a friend. Though from her reaction alone it was a safe bet that it was the former. _It’d be nice if she started to look at me in that way._ There was a brief silence while he contemplated his next action. Not too long after, he turned around and began to walk to a new destination.

“Where are we going?” Umeko closed her eyes to the gentle swaying as he walked once, she had accepted her fate and relaxed in his arms.

“That’s a secret.” It didn’t take too long before they reached their destination, but it was enough that Umeko had fallen asleep in Ushijima’s arms. Ushijima smiled slightly as he looked down at the girl he cradled so preciously. As carefully as he could Ushijima lowered himself and managed to sit under a tree without waking Umeko from her slumber. _She was protesting not long ago but she fell asleep so quickly._

It was a clear sky which allowed the sun to shine unobstructed. The rays of light that would have been considered too hot were left in small dapples through the leaves of the tree which kept both Ushijima and Umeko cool. Occasionally a small breeze would rustle through the leaves which almost sounded like a soothing melody by nature itself.

Ushijima relaxed a little and let Umeko’s body rest on his lap but kept a firm hold on her, so she was half leaning her body on his chest. He kept as still as he could so he wouldn’t disturb her rest. After how much she’s worked, Umeko deserved a good nap for her efforts.

He felt bubbles burst erratically in his chest before he looked away from her sleeping figure. Ushijima -despite having the best intentions in mind- felt almost, just almost guilty, like what he was doing was completely incriminating and would lead to an incredible amount of misunderstandings. _Even so, I am happy she trusts me enough to fall asleep like this._

Ushijima wasn’t sure if Umeko knew of his feelings for her, though he would like to think that they were obvious enough that she would at least have an inkling of suspicion. But then again this was Umeko, she didn’t look up for three years and even then, wasn’t completely sure of his identity as the fourth member until Ushijima personally confirmed it for her. He wouldn’t be surprised if Umeko was completely oblivious.

He sighed softly as his murmur was lost in the wind, “Ume, just what have you done to me?”

****

****

**_-_ ** **\----A FEW HOURS LATER-----**

Umeko stirred awake and rubbed her eyes. It had been a while since she had slept so peacefully. Umeko snuggled closer to the warmth surrounding her in an attempt to fall back asleep. _Wait. It’s warm around me!? But I’m outside!_ Umeko’s blue eyes snapped open in shock, thankfully it didn’t take very long till her panic subsided. The smell of peaches enveloped her, there was only one person she knew who smelt like them. It was Ushijima. Umeko was torn between hastily scrambling out of his arms or just staying where she was, she was partial to the latter. Of course, she was a considerate person who only wanted the best for him, so she stayed put. _No ulterior motives like spending more time in his arms and lap. Nothing like that at all. I just don’t want to wake him up!_

Umeko looked up at Ushijima’s sleeping figure, she knew Ushijima was very attractive, but she was still stunned now that she could see it up close. The gentle slope of his nose and his incredibly defined jawline were enough to make her swoon. _What an incredibly proportioned person._ Umeko smiled to herself holding back quiet laughter. Umeko reached out her hand and very slowly pulled a stray leaf out of Ushijima’s dark olive locks. “Would it be bad of me to indulge like this?” Umeko murmured as she leaned back into Ushijima’s chest and relaxed in his arms.

The quiet rustling of the leaves and the warm dappled sunlight seemed like such a surreal scene. If anyone were to see the pair, they would most definitely look like an overly sappy couple. Umeko let out a deep sigh, she could already feel the pounding in her chest that had over the past few days become almost unbearable. The cause was -predictably- her feelings for Ushijima, she had become almost too conscious of every move he made and latched on to every word he spoke. Simply put, Umeko was simping hard. “Maybe I’ll tell you after the competition.” Umeko gently poked Ushijima’s cheek.

“Tell me what?”

“Y-you were awake!? How long have you been awake?” Umeko tried to keep her blush under control and stiffened up slightly from the sudden response.

Ushijima shifted slightly but continued to hold Umeko in his arms, he had no intention of letting go any time soon. “I’ve been awake since the start of that sentence.” He responded in earnest, though he had no idea why Umeko would be so worried about it.

“I-I see. That’s great. U-um.” Umeko was at a loss for words, she was glad Ushijima wasn’t able to put two and two together but somehow, she felt just the slightest bit of disappointment. “Thanks for letting me sleep.” Umeko mumbled bashfully. _Wait, did I drool?_ She quickly wiped her mouth to make sure there wasn’t any dried saliva on her face, thankfully there was nothing. _But what about snoring? I don’t think I snore. Maybe?_ “U-um, by any chance…did I snore?”


	28. Familiar Faces

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The training camp!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I get plenty of exercise - jumping to conclusions, pushing my luck and dodging deadlines!
> 
> Happy reading!

“Give me back this week’s jump already!” Tendou burst through the door of Ushijima’s dorm room with no hesitation.

Ushijima looked up at the sudden disturbance. “Hold on a minute. I'm still in the middle of reading ‘refreshingly silky smooth hairless beautiful skin’ it’s rather interesting.”

“Read the manga instead of the advertisements ya’ doof!” Tendou chirped energetically, while he was elated that his best friend was willing to read manga for him, he sometimes wondered if perhaps Ushijima took his ‘read cover to cover’ expression too seriously. “By the way, you’re planning on going to the first years’ training camp tomorrow right, Wakatoshi?”

Ushijima closed what he was reading and picked up the volleyball that was on his bed beside his pillow. “But of course.”

“Hmm~” Tendou suppressed a sly grin. “What about Umeko? Do you think she’ll join us? There are a lot of new people there.” His thoughts went to the first day the pair met the girl, it was an odd feeling to witness the ‘before and after’ changes, from someone who rambled and wasn’t very comfortable around one person to someone who would willingly walk into a crowded area and unfortunately -thanks to Shirabu- had the potential to be a salt mine.

There was no hesitation in Ushijima’s answer but only a hint of a smile, “But of course.”

****

****

**_-_ ** **\----THE NEXT DAY-----**

“I’m going to be late!” Umeko abruptly sat up and practically tumbled out of bed, she had almost forgotten that she was supposed to meet the team on the way to the gym, there wasn’t a set time or anything of the sort but she decided it be best to walk into the gym with them rather than sneaking through the doors alone. Umeko grabbed the closest school t-shirt -that was probably clean- and her school skirt, she was going to look for her track pants, but time was of the essence and she couldn’t waste it rummaging through her wardrobe. “Where are my stockings?!”

\-------

“Do you really think she is going to come?” Oohira was slightly skeptical as the team began their walk from the dorms to the gym, as far as he was aware no one in the team had asked her to come with them. That’s not to say he was against her spectating; he was perfectly fine with her being around.

“Wellllllll, Wakatoshi said she would come so I don’t see why not.” Tendou’s grin only grew wider. “It’ll be fine. See?”

As if on que Umeko half jogged half trotted towards the team. “S-sorry, I took a nap.” As soon as she reached the team, she stopped for a moment to catch her breath.

“Don’t worry about it.”

Umeko fidgeted in place, sketchbook and pencil in hand. “Is it ok if I join you?”

“If it wasn’t ok do you think we would be talking right now?” Shirabu raised an eyebrow. “And it’s just like Goshiki said, you are an honorary member, of course its ok.”

Umeko’s face lit up like Shirabu had personally given her the stars. Before she could respond Semi was the next to talk. “What happened to your hair?” He put his hands on her shoulders then turned her around. “It’s a mess.” Semi’s fingers skillfully began to tame her messy hair.

Umeko didn’t look in the mirror before she left her room, but she could already guess what her hair looked like. A combination of a bed head and wind tousled hair was not a good look on her. “Well, I didn’t have time to tidy it up before I went out, then I ran all the way here.”

“I see.” Once Semi had untangled her hair he rummaged in his pocket for something to tie her hair with. _If I remember correctly, I should still have that hair tie with me._ Finally, he found what he was looking for. With deft fingers he pulled her hair back into a small ponytail and used the hair tie to keep it in place. “All done.”

Umeko was not expecting Semi to be able to do her hair in such a short amount of time, or at all really, so it was a very pleasant surprise he was able to tame the mess she created. At the very least she was seventy five percent presentable. “Thank you!” She chirped happily.

“Ume.”

“Yes?”

“You’re wearing your shirt inside out.” Ushijima gestured to the side tag that was supposed to be on the inner side of her clothes.

Umeko evaluated herself up and down then noticed the tag. She flushed in embarrassment and covered her face. “Thanks for telling me” She whimpered. If she were to go back to her room and fix her shirt there then it would take too long, and there was no way she could do it right where they stood, but at the same time she didn’t want to have to go to the gym with her clothes as they were. She was at a loss.

As if already anticipating her reaction Ushijima took off his track jacket and put it around her. “You can wear this.”

Umeko nodded gratefully and slipped her hands through the sleeve holes, as per usual whenever she put on anything that Ushijima offered, he zipped up the front of the jacket to finish the process. “Thank you.” The collar of the jacket covered a portion of her chin when zipped up to the top, the sleeves covered over half her hands and the bottom reached just below her hips covering a little over a third of her skirt.

Ushijima simply nodded in response before the group started walking to the gym again. They were all excited to see who the invited players were, Umeko included.

****

****

**_-_ ** **\---- AT THE GYM -----**

“I see you’ve finally made it.” The coach noticed as the team walked through the doors of the gym.

Tendou held both his hands in the hair and waved around without reservation. “Heyyy!”

All the members of the training camp turned to face the group as they walked in. A mixture of shock, awe and dread lay pasted on the trainees’ faces “Hello!” Goshiki straightened up and greeted his teammates.

Umeko popped up from behind Ushijima and gave him a wave. “Hi, Goshiki!” She chuckled a little as he lit up even further. “I came to watch.” Umeko gave a brief glance to the rest of the trainees and saw a few familiar faces before she turned back to Goshiki. “Are you parading around as some veteran” She teased playfully.

“No, I'm not!” Goshiki replied hastily.

“Oh my, thank you all so much for coming.” A coach with glasses and side split hair began to talk over the noise and caused the groups to quiet down. “Shiratorizawa’s second and third years as well as a few alumni have agreed to stand in as your practice match opponents.”

There were not so subtle whispers from the trainees regarding Ushijima’s presence, though all of them were either awe or praise. Using this pause Umeko had planned to stealthily part from the group and making her way towards her seat on the bench. Unfortunately, her timing was slightly off, and the coach continued his instructions before she would sneak away.

“First up, please decide amongst yourselves who will be playing and what your signaling system is going to be. Feel free to discuss.”

Tendou’s eyes narrowed in on Hinata. “A wild Karasuno number ten has appeared!” He pointed at Hinata then made a face that was a cross between his usual creepy grin and something that was supposed to be threatening. “How ‘bout I take you on, right now?!” he challenged.

Hinata’s eyes gleamed, _It’s the Guess Monster_. He felt his chest swell with pride knowing that Tendou remembered him. Before he had a chance to reply he was called away to refill the water bottles.

\---------

Umeko, placed her sketchpad and pencil on her spot on the bench. “Hey coach.” She gave a small wave to Shiratorizawa’s coach who simply nodded in return. As soon as her brief greeting was finished, she turned around and made her way to the trainees as soon as they were done conversing. “Um, excuse me…” She appeared behind two players wearing the Aoba Johsai gym uniform. One of the players had a deadpan expression and the other had hair that looked rather similar to a turnip. If she was correct in her guess the two boys were her underclassmen from when she was in middle school.

“By any chance are you Kunimi and Kindaichi?” If these were normal circumstances, she probably wouldn’t have tried to speak to them but because her curiosity was just itching to be sated, she bit the bullet and just asked.

Both taller boys turned around to face her. “Yeah. I'm Kunimi and this is Kindaichi” Kunimi gestured to his companion. There was a brief moment of silence where all three members had no idea what to say next.

Umeko just wanted her curiosity to be satisfied but now that she had inserted herself into a conversation, she couldn’t just bail on them. “Uh, long time no see?”


	29. Shorts or Dresses

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Training camp part 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There are so many scams on the internet these days...but for only $19.95 I can show you how to avoid them!
> 
> Enjoy!

Kindaichi’s eyes widened. “Hold on. Aren't you Oikawa and Iwaizumi’s childhood friend?” He tapped his head a few times with his finger. “Akiyama, right?”

Umeko was flattered that he not only remembered her face but also her name. Usually it would be one or the other, if at all. “Yep!” She chirped happily. “So how are you both doing?”

“We’re pretty good” Kunimi responded, his voice just as deadpan as usual. “Are you the manager?”

“No, nothing like that.” Umeko contemplated for a brief moment before speaking. “Kunimi, can I ask you something?”

“If it’s not too troublesome.”

Umeko furrowed her eyebrows in thought. “You’re a pretty low energy kind of person, why are you playing a sport like volleyball?” She had wanted to ask him since she was in middle school, but she never got the chance before she graduated.

“Well, It-” Kunimi wasn’t able to finish his response before the glasses coach called everyone back to attention. “Ah, we have to go.”

Umeko waved them away. “It’s alright, have fun” She chirped before she walked back and took her seat beside the coach. As soon as Umeko sat down and situated herself with her sketchbook out and pencil in hand the practice match was underway. Thankfully-for the day- her hand was more numb rather than painful which meant she could draw without too much extra discomfort. Her plan was to draw each individual player and hope for the best results possible.

****

****

**_-_ ** **\----TWO HOURS LATER-----**

Umeko was at a loss. _These look horrible._ she groaned internally as she flipped through her drawings, compared to her first attempts she had improved considerably to the point where the lines were properly visible. The only problem was that the details could use a lot of improvement. The proportions were mostly correct at the very least. Umeko sighed and turned the page to her drawing attempt of Tendou. “At least you can tell who it is, unlike…” She closed the sketchbook and stood up. “Coach, I'm going for a quick walk around the gym to stretch my legs.”

\--------

“So, what’s your deal? Why aren't you playing?” Tendou spoke up from behind the barrier causing Hinata to jolt.

“I-I wasn’t chosen for this camp.”

“Huh?! Then why are you even here?” Tendou leaned forward now more interested in the current circumstances that lead the tiny Karasuno player to their school.

Hinata’s answer slowly dwindled down till he went silent. “I…Invited myself…”

Tendou burst out in laughter before he turned to Ushijima with full intent on sharing the story. “Wakatoshi! Did you hear that just now?! He’s totally nuts!” His laughter didn’t die down despite Ushijima’s lackluster reaction.

Ushijima gave Hinata a sparing glance. “Well then, what are you doing standing there?”

\------

Umeko rounded the corner after hearing Ushijima’s remark. She knew that Ushijima was a very blunt person, but she didn’t expect that. Even if Ushijima was trying to spur Hinata into motion, it could have been phrased perhaps a bit softer.

“Umeko!”

“Yes!?” Umeko jumped and immediately turned around to see Tendou towering above her.

“How’s it going?” He chirped. Tendou began to gently corral her out towards the side of the court. “What kinda drawings did you do?” Tendou knew full well that Umeko had spent most of her time trying to draw some of the students but he was more curious about the finished product over the process.

“Some very unfortunate ones.” Umeko sighed. She glanced at her sketchbook then held it to her chest to stop anyone from peeking. There was no hiding it from Tendou, she learned the hard way that he would relentlessly keep pestering her until she showed it to him. Tendou’s perseverance was much greater than anyone gave him credit for. “Will you laugh?”

Without hesitation Tendou answered. “Probably if it’s amusing!”

Umeko sighed once more then showed him her latest drawings of each student. As predicted, he burst into laughter at some of the pictures, Semi’s drawing especially. “At least you’re having fun.” She huffed. There was no ill-will or mockery between the two so Umeko could at the very least appreciate his genuine reactions.

Tendou had to admit, though he did find the pictures rather amusing he couldn’t say they were bad. Of course, compared to some of her previous work from when she was uninjured, the ones in his hands were much worse off. He flipped to his page. “Hey, I look great!” Tendou was rather pleased that he came out looking far better than all the other drawings he had seen. _Now let’s see…_ He turned to the next drawing; it was of Ushijima. “Woah, woah, woah! Why is Wakatoshi’s drawing so much better than mine? I thought I was your favorite.” He teased.

Honestly speaking, when all the drawings were compared there was a considerable difference in quality when it came to Ushijima’s drawing. Simply put, the drawing of Ushijima was the closest to the level of her pre-injured state. Of course, the difference was like comparing a pond to an ocean, but it was better than comparing a puddle to the sea.

“I’m completely unbiased, I have no favorites.” Umeko couldn’t hold back a playful grin which deemed her words baseless.

Tendou pinched her cheeks and pulled slightly. “I daresay otherwise. The drawing is proof”

Before Tendou could say anymore the coach yelled for him from across the court. “Tendou, stop messing around and help the group tidy up so we can all rest!”

“Aha, that’s me.” Tendou gave Umeko a wave then practically skipped over to the coach and the rest of the students.

Umeko, despite not being required to, offered her help to the students she wasn’t really doing anything but standing around, so she wanted to be of some help. Unfortunately thanks to her injury she didn’t have many tasks, eventually she was delegated to bring the numbered vests down from the second floor.

“Ume.”

Umeko looked up and to her left to find Ushijima's familiar figure. “Hi, how’s it going?”

“It’s good.” There was a long pause where the pair began to walk up the stairs in silence. There was no need for words between them as they just basked in each other’s presence. Perhaps almost too soon Ushijima spoke up, “Are you free this weekend?”

Thinking nothing of it Umeko nodded and began to collect the vests into the basket. “Yep, both days. I don’t have anything planned.”

“I see, how does Saturday at ten in the morning sound?” Ushijima handed her a few more vests that he had collected.

“What?” Umeko tilted her head perplexed by Ushijima's unexpected follow up question.

“I promised I’d take you somewhere next time we go out, so that’s what I'm going to do.”

_Is this a date? Is he asking for a date?_ Umeko kept her composure but felt the tips of her ears heat up. “Like the two of us?”

Ushijima nodded. He tried to maintain a nonchalant attitude, but it was increasingly difficult as Umeko pressed for more specifics.

“Alone?”

“Correct.”

Umeko pursed her lips before she answered. Her voice was considerably quieter than it was previously, she didn’t want to be too conceited but at the same time she needed to clarify. “So, it’s a date?”

A faint hint of pink appeared on the tips of Ushijima’s ears which was more than enough confirmation for her. Umeko failed to restrain her growing smile. It was like a spray of bubbles were released into her system and began to overflow. She couldn’t help it. “I’ll see you on Saturday then!” Umeko chirped ecstatic at the turn of events.

****

****

**_-_ ** **\----SATURDAY MORNING-----**

Umeko looked at the clock. It was eight in the morning. She had to admit she was overly excited that her body had ended up waking earlier than usual, at the very least it would allow her some time to choose her outfit carefully. This was her first ever date and Umeko was determined to impress _. I'm going on a date with my crush._ The little voice in Umeko’s head practically squawked out those words over and over again. _That means I have a chance, right?_

Finally, Umeko opened her wardrobe and looked through her clothes for something suitable to wear. She didn’t want to wear the romper or the skirt as she used those previously so this time Umeko was contemplating perhaps shorts or a dress. Ushijima never specified where the pair were headed, or how they would get there so she wasn’t sure which one to go for. In theory since he didn’t specify a particular type of clothing, then there stands to reason that she could wear whatever she wanted -that was within the typical boundaries of course.

She looked between her assortment of shorts and dresses contemplating her choices. “I think…I’ll wear…this one.”


	30. Butterfly

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Date!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My friends laughed at me when I told them I had a hot date and they said he was imaginary. Well, jokes on them - they're imaginary too... 
> 
> Enjoy!

“Woah, woah, you can’t go out looking like that!” Tendou hastily stood in front of the door stopping Ushijima from exiting the room. Thankfully he managed to stop his bestfriend just in time, who knows what would have happened if he didn’t.

“What’s wrong with what I'm wearing now?”

“You like you are going for a jog and not a date!” Tendou exclaimed. He managed to usher Ushijima further into the room till they were at the wardrobe. It was twenty to ten and they didn’t want to be late. Tendou rummaged through Ushijima’s clothes trying to find anything that didn’t look like exercise clothes, unfortunately that proved to be a rather difficult task.

“Aha!” Tendou pulled out a burgundy crew-neck t-shirt. It was hidden close to the bottom of the clothing pile that he almost missed it. At this point the image was starting to form, Tendou handed Ushijima a black bomber jacket and navy jeans. “Try these.” Ushijima did as instructed then stood still for Tendou to inspect him. After a few subtle changes Tendou burst out in mad cackling. “I have done it! Now go forth! You are ready!”

\-------

Umeko examined herself in the mirror and groaned. It was the fifth outfit she had tried, and she just wasn’t feeling it. She had ten minutes to choose but she couldn’t find the ‘right’ one. She paced around her room with her clothes spread on her bed, she didn’t want to over dress but at the same time she didn’t want to just wear her usual clothes. It was a date and Umeko wanted to look her best.

Once Umeko had taken off the last outfit she rummaged through her closet. “When did I get this?” Umeko took out a simple muted seafoam colored dress. She figured there was no harm in trying it on. She finished pulling up the zipper then twirled in front of the mirror. It was a flare dress with a double layered hem. The bottom of the dress reached her mid-thigh and the sleeves belled outward to stop at her wrist. What Umeko didn’t expect was that instead of having a V or U cut, the top of the dress ended in a low turtleneck.

It didn’t take very long before Umeko decided that this was the dress for her. It was a little different compared to her usual style, but she liked to think it was surprisingly cute on her. She grabbed her small white shoulder bag that she prepared the day before she practically ran out to the entrance of the dorm.

Umeko brightened up further when she saw her date waiting outside. “Ushijima!” Her excitement levels were off the charts.

“Ume.” It took a second for him to take in the scene before him. He could have sworn that Umeko’s smile almost blinded him with how bright it was. “You look very cute.” Before Ushijima could even think his words through, they escaped with no restraint. It seemed that recently it became harder to keep those thoughts to himself.

“T-Thank you. You look really good too” Umeko looked up at him, her face unabashedly pink. She fiddled with her fingers as she attempted to change the subject. “So, um. Where are we going?”

Umeko’s reaction to his compliment was enough to make his heart squeeze. That reaction had to be illegal with how adorable that was. He felt the urge to just scoop her up in his arms and not go anywhere. Mustering up as much self-control as he could he pushed that desire down and began to walk side by side. “It’s a surprise. I won’t tell you till we get there.”

In a moment of bold confidence Ushijima gently held Umeko’s hand in his own. Her hands seemed so delicate in his as if just a little pressure would break them. Her hand had a small palm and slender fingers that seemed to suit her perfectly. “I..uh, so you don’t get lost.”

Umeko blushed and but didn’t let go, the pair knew that his excuse was flimsy and completely baseless but neither brought up the fallacies in his reasoning. “Ok.” Umeko could feel the calluses on his hand and smiled slightly. Now that she had seen firsthand how hard Ushijima worked, the meaning seemed so much deeper. His hands were from continuous hard work that he has put in for himself, for his team and for his passion. But those thoughts aside Umeko really hoped that her hands wouldn’t get sweaty.

As the pair continued to walk, the conversation picked up, it was much more than just simple words. The smiles, the laughter and light in their eyes seemed to hold more meaning than the words themselves. They savored each moment with each other, elevated from their excitement. It seemed almost a shame that they arrived at their destination; the atmosphere alone was enough for Umeko to be willing to walk miles.

“We are here.” Ushijima stopped at what looked like a large greenhouse. The glass glittered as some of the sunlight reflected off the surface. The pair walked into the greenhouse rather unceremoniously.

Umeko's eyes widened. “It’s a butterfly garden!” She squealed delighted by the revelation. The garden seemed to be a shade brighter than the outside from the little dewdrops left from the plants being recently watered. The water shimmered in the light causing the scene before them to sparkle like a pile of gems. The buttercups became gold, the daisies pearl and the grass emerald. Her eyes flitted around the room to find a vast expanse of different flowers and greenery; it was beautiful. But what really took Umeko’s breath away were the butterflies that seemed to dance in the air unhindered by gravity.

From the look on Umeko’s face there was no need for him to ask what she thought about the place, her eyes seemed to glitter from wonder. The air was warm, perhaps borderline stifling from the humidity, but for the experience it was a trivial matter. A large butterfly with cerulean wings floated over and sat upon the rip of his nose. Upon closer inspection there were swirls of blue and gold that separated each wing section. Ushijima didn’t move as he allowed the butterfly to stay, it was so light that just the slightest movement might disturb it.

“Tha-” Umeko stopped mid-sentence once she saw the scene before her. It was absolutely adorable. She giggled softly as she took a step closer to Ushijima so she could examine the butterfly better. Its wingspan was large enough to cover a majority of Ushijima’s face but despite its size it was more delicate than glass. Umeko quickly glanced over to the identification board to pinpoint what species of butterfly it belonged to, but by the time she looked back the butterfly was already gone in the wind.

Umeko gasped abruptly. “I didn’t get to take a picture!” She fell to her knees from her own lack of foresight. “It would have been an adorable picture.” Umeko sighed heartbroken over the missed opportunity.

“You can still take a photo of the butterflies.” Ushijima gently helped her back on her feet and once more took her hand.

_But I wanted to take a photo of a butterfly on you!_ She cried internally. There was no way Umeko could tell Ushijima that. While the butterflies were quite a sight themselves, they would never compare to what happened prior. “Y-yes you’re right.” Umeko halfheartedly replied as the pair began to walk through the indoor garden.

\----------

Tendou and Shirabu sat together in the boys’ common room. “Do you think it’s going ok?” Tendou was just a tad worried about the pair and what developments may or may not happen. He needed to know the juicy details; he was the world’s best wingman after all.

Shirabu looked up from his book. “Probably.” He wasn’t quite sure what events led up to him sitting with his upperclassmen talking about his captain’s date, but whatever happened it was too late to change now. “Ushijima and Umeko, hm. I’m surprised it didn’t happen sooner.”

“What!?” Tendou exclaimed as he leaned in closer.

“Sometimes when I visit her, Umeko feels the need to tell me all about Ushijima as it if I didn't know in the first place.” Shirabu rubbed his forehead and groaned at a memory, “And her drawings show some very clear bias. Have you seen all of them? The time and detail she puts into his portraits are quite frankly impressive.”

Tendou remembered the drawings from her sketchbook a few days ago. Shirabu was pretty much spot on. Tendou was no art connoisseur but even he could tell that Umeko put a considerably more effort into drawings of things she liked -or in this case, a person she liked. “Say, Shirabu. You are pretty close to Umeko too right? You visit almost every day.” A playful smile appeared on Tendou’s face. _Now that I think about it, Umeko's drawings of Shirabu are pretty good too._ “Are you guys best friends?”

Shirabu reddened slightly and practically slammed the book closed. “No! There is no way I am best friends with her.”

“I smell denial~”

“You’re wrong. That’s impossible.” Shirabu tried to regain his composure while he vehemently continued to disagree with Tendou. 

“Aw, little Shirabu has a friend, I’m so proud.” Tendou wiped a fake tear from his eye “And the girls even know you by a cute nickname. Time-travel boy, was it?" He put a hand over her heart and sighed. “If that’s friendship I don’t know what is.”

“T-that’s, it’s not…” Shirabu’s ears burned bright pink as he turned away, he had lost this argument.


	31. Sunset Palette

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Date pt 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I invented a new word today. Plagiarism 
> 
> Happy reading!

“The butterfly garden was so cool” Umeko squealed in delight. The pair had spent a fair amount of time in the garden and managed to see everything the place had to offer and in a stroke of luck Umeko was able to take some photos with Ushijima. It had taken an awful lot of courage for her to ask, but in the end Umeko was glad that she did. A long grumble from her stomach brought her thoughts back to the present.

“Let’s find a place to eat. Do you have any preferences?” Ushijima couldn’t deny that he was feeling rather hungry himself though he wasn’t sure if the correct course of action would be to dine in a restaurant or visit a café. The ‘date etiquette’ that Tendou had shown him -via manga- did not include the ideal place to eat.

Umeko thought for a moment before she had her answer, “Hm, maybe we can go to that café that opened recently. Is that alright with you?” She had wanted to visit for a while, but she never really had the chance, that and she felt that it would be awkward to order a meal and eat alone. Umeko would never understand the people who had that much confidence to eat alone in public.

Ushijima simply nodded and the pair began to walk. It wasn’t hard to find the café considering that it wasn’t too far from school. As soon as they arrived, they could tell that it was packed. The smell of coffee and cream swept over the pair as they entered. The interior of the café was surprisingly lively, there was a large variety of different customers all chatting or laughing. The jovial atmosphere was infectious. From another perspective perhaps it was closer to chaos with all the noise and bustle but even then, it seemed to be well handled.

Umeko was about to order soup before she changed her mind. “Hm, I’ll have the Tuna Mayo Onigiri and lychee Ramune, please” She turned to face Ushijima.

“Beef Katsu Onigiri if you would.” Ushijima browsed through the drink options “Pocari Sweat too.”

Umeko looked around, all the seating areas were already occupied by other guests. “Ah, can we get the order to go?”

“Certainly, I’ll be out in a few minutes.”

Umeko was about to hand over money to pay before Ushijima stopped her. “No, I’ll pay for us both.” Ushijima handed the cashier his money then moved the two of them to the ‘pick up’ line.

“Is it really ok?” Umeko looked up at him sheepishly, he had already paid for the butterfly garden tickets and now their meal.

Ushijima nodded. “Yes. Today is our date, a book I read stated that a date is more effective this way.” He stated it so plainly with no hesitation that it sent a warm feeling in her chest.

Umeko blushed at the declaration, of course she was a little curious as to what kind of book he was reading to get those ideas in the first place, but she decided not to question it and be grateful instead. It would be rude to deny his goodwill. “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.” Ushijima picked up their bag of food the server left on the counter. “There is a park nearby so we could eat there.” Every morning during his jog he would always pass by the park, but despite this Ushijima had never stopped to explore it deeper. Luckily this seemed like the opportune moment he needed.

“Sounds good, the sky is beautiful today.” Umeko walked beside Ushijima and smiled, she was giddy from everything that had happened so far, and her mood wouldn’t be falling anytime soon. As they walked by the stores to get to their destination, a charm bracelet caught her eye. It was one of the kinds that you could buy additional charms for and add them to the chain. “Ushijima, would you give me a quick moment, I need to do something real fast.” She entered the store with Ushijima in tow not far behind her.

Umeko looked around then peeked into each glass case before she found what she was looking for. From an even closer perspective she could see the bracelet clasp seemed sturdy and the silver had a few accents of gold in its design. Fearing for the worst she looked at the price tag, much to her relief it was within her price range and much to her delight one charm came along with the bracelet.

One of the employees took out the bracelet so Umeko could purchase it. “Which charm would you like to include with this bracelet?”

Umeko looked through the available charms, the prices of each charm was very reasonable and despite small discrepancies between certain designs they were mostly the same price. “Can I have the frog charm, please.” Immediately she took out her wallet and handed over the money. She needed to be quick about it before Ushijima noticed. There was no way in hell she was going to let him pay for the bracelet.

The employee took the money and wrapped up her item. “Thank you for shopping with us.”

Umeko thanked them then ushered Ushijima out of the store faster than they had come in. “Thanks for waiting. Let’s go eat.”

Thankfully from the jewelry store it didn’t take very long to reach their destination. Umeko was taken aback by how close the park was to their school. Sure, she didn’t really go out to explore much -if at all- but she never suspected a pack would be nearby. “This is really nice.”

Ushijima nodded and walked further in. There was a handful of picnic tables and benches that surrounded a well-maintained playground. The table they had chosen was a little farther from the playground than most so the sound of children playing didn’t overpower their voices.

_How peaceful._ Umeko received her onigiri from Ushijima then began to eat it. It wasn’t half bad. Of course, it wasn’t spectacular, but the store was a café, so chances are, it was the coffees, teas and sandwiches that were more the store’s strong points. _Perhaps next time, if I ever come back, I’ll order those._

Ushijima sat opposite her and began to eat his own meal while listening to the sounds of playing. It was somehow soothing - as long as it was just background noise. He assumed that from closer up it would get too loud or they’d be interrupted by kids asking particularly difficult questions. “The art competition is coming up in a week.”

Umeko finished her mouthful then nodded. “Yeah…” She fidgeted nervously as she continued to eat. From the time she was injured to the present, she had improved drastically but Umeko knew it was a far cry from her best. The grueling hours she had to spend drawing simple shapes almost traumatized her as much as the amount of times she dropped her pencil.

“Do you think you are ready?”

Umeko’s lips pursed into a thin line, “Not really.” The fear and anxiety started to gnaw at her newly built resolve. “I mean, even now I occasionally drop my pencil.” Her voice was shaky as she forced out quiet laughter. “And you know how my shapes look. Ha, I can’t even do a square right.” She shook her head. “Sharp lines? What a joke.” _Forget the top three, I probably can’t make the top ten._

Ushijima immediately noticed that Umeko’s nervous laughter slowly turned into self-deprecating humor. His brow crinkled into a frown. “Ume. Stop.” His voice was stern and left no room to argue. “You have worked harder than most people could when faced with such an injury, it’s only natural that you aren't as good as you were before but that doesn’t mean it’s impossible to be better.” Ushijima put a hand on the top of her head reassuringly. “No matter how many times you have dropped your pencil you have always picked it back up.”

Umeko was left with nothing else to say. It was incredibly reassuring to have someone wholeheartedly believe in her abilities despite everything that had happened. “T-thanks” She relaxed with a heavy sigh, Umeko had already decided to do her best even if she didn’t place. Of course, she would prefer to get a high score but since this was her final year in the competition, she was looking for scholarship invitations not trophies.

Ushijima’s gaze softened. “You’re welcome.” There was a long comfortable silence as the pair watched the children play. “What are you planning on doing for your art piece?” from what he remembered from the rules, the contestants were allowed to bring in and use whatever tools and materials they brought with them. That alone gave an incredible amount of creative freedom.

“I'm going to paint, preferably with acrylics.” Umeko wasn’t even going to mention the watercolor pens she owned because there was no way that she wanted to use them. “I'm not sure what theme the judges will choose this year, so I have to be prepared for anything.”

“Good. Preparation is the key to success.” Ushijima took a look at the sky then stood up and held his hand out for Umeko. “It’ll be dark soon so let’s go home.”

The sky was indeed starting to change to a palette of oranges, pinks and purples which indicated the waning day. “I didn’t realize we were out for so long.” Umeko allowed herself to be helped up by Ushijima before they began to walk home hand in hand. “Time really does fly when you are having fun. Let’s do this again sometime.” Umeko grinned with her brazen declaration.

Ushijima didn't hesitate to respond. “Of course.”


	32. Lucky Charms

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Getting ready for the competition  
> Competition day

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not all math puns are terrible, just SUM.
> 
> Enjoy!

“So how was the date?” Shirabu sat on the unclaimed bed opposite Umeko’s. It had been a day since the date, so he was curious as to how it went, though from Umeko’s lovesick expression, it was fairly obvious.

Umeko shifted to a sitting up position on her own bed, “It went great! And better yet, Ushijima is willing to go on another date with me.” Umeko had to hold herself back from squealing like the fangirl she was. Without needing any further prompting Umeko began to retell the events of the day not sparing any details. 

The minutes ticked by and it soon became apparent that Umeko was not planning to stop gushing any time soon. Shirabu held up a hand to interject. “I didn’t need that many details.” He huffed. While he was happy for her, Shirabu didn’t think he would be able to listen to any more rambling about how an onigiri tasted. “You said you bought a bracelet, can I see?”

Umeko hopped out of bed and opened the small box that sat inconspicuously on her desk. “Tada!” She chirped. “I only have one charm on it right now but later on I’ll definitely add some in the future.” She brought it closer to Shirabu and pointed to the little frog designed charm, “Isn’t it cute?”

Shirabu made a face, while the craftsmanship was impressive the choice in charm was a little out there. “Not really. Frogs don’t make for very good charms.” His response was as blunt and honest as ever, he couldn’t just lie about how hideous he thought it was.

“Shirabu!” Umeko gasped in mock horror, “Frogs are adorable! Have you seen them wearing hats? They are just the cutest!” She pouted and began to defend her favorite animal.

“Why would I have seen a frog wearing a hat?” Shirabu deadpanned in response.

Umeko immediately pulled out her phone and brought up pictures of frogs wearing hats. “See!” She turned her phone to Shirabu and looked at him expectantly.

“You have some interesting tastes.”

“Fineeee” Umeko pouted, then put her phone away. “It’s ok if you don’t understand true greatness.” She grinned unable to hold back.

“I understand that you have bad taste in animals.” He retorted playfully. “Also, didn’t you say that you would pack your stuff today?”

Umeko pulled out her side bag and began to fill it with her art supplies as she pretended like she didn’t completely forget. “I was about to do that.” She carefully placed brand new tubes of paint and paint brushes in the main portion of the bag then her pencils, erasers and pens in the extra pockets. Umeko did consider bringing her colored pencils too but she eventually decided against them.

“Don’t you have to bring your own canvas too? Since it’s part of your needed materials.” Shirabu watched as Umeko ever so tenderly placed each item in its designated spot in the bag.

“It’s going to be sent directly to the venue since it’s a bit difficult for me to carry with my current stature.” Umeko had called the sponsors of the competition before Shirabu arrived to ask if it would be ok to have the canvas brought over by a third party. At first, she wasn’t quite sure they would allow her but after she found out that plenty of other participants did the same thing she immediately jumped at the opportunity. “Can you pass me that too, please?”

“You could have just said that you're short.” Shirabu deadpanned. He handed her the dry sponge by the windowsill, originally Shirabu didn’t have any knowledge pertaining to the arts, however after spending time with an art fanatic he had learned more than enough. “Are you not going to bring those with you?” Shirabu had noticed that Umeko had made no moves to put the watercolor pens in her bag, while he was aware she didn’t like them, there was no demerit to take the pens with her.

“I’m not bringing those; I dislike them with a burning passion.”

\----------

“Really?!” Tendou perked up after hearing everything that had happened.

Ushijima nodded once before he looked back down to the manga Tendou had lent him. “Yes. It was memorable. We had a lot of fun.” He smiled slightly as he continued to read over the contents of the book.

Tendou couldn’t help but grin, he was ecstatic that ‘fate’ was coming together. _Umeko is happy, Wakatoshi is happy, this is great._ Tendou gave himself a pat on the back, after what felt like an eternity the mutual pining had finally come to fruition. All he had to do now was wait and see who would be the first to confess. Though if he was being honest, the pair were very obvious, and it started to get painful watching the two unintentionally flirt. _Hopefully the confession will be sooner rather than later._

****

****

**_-_ ** **\----ONE WEEK LATER-----**

“Do you have all your stuff with you?”

Umeko nodded. “Yep! I checked the bag before we left!” Umeko responded with a smile despite being a nervous wreck.

“Well even if she didn’t have all her stuff it’s impossible to get them now.” Ushijima gestured to the venue. “We are already here.”

The group looked towards the venue’s doors; it had a distinctly different vibe from the sports venue. From the outside, the building was a slightly off-white color with an overabundance of columns, almost enough to look like a greenhouse. Decorative art pieces crafted by former competitors scattered the courtyard in a seemingly random placement. The building itself could be considered art with how intricate its design was. The building looked like something straight out of ancient Greece, the columns were tall and thicker than what would be expected from a building its size. Upon closer inspection the walls were engraved with grand designs depicting what Umeko assumed to be Greek legends. Each design was painstakingly hand crafted into the brick. If anything, the walls were more like murals.

“Ah! Right!” Tendou chirped with a quick follow up. He rummaged in his pocket before pulling out a small box. “You too, Shirabu!”

Beside Tendou, Shirabu did the same and pulled out an identical box. “It’s a gift.” There was a pause when Umeko didn’t reach for it. “Take it already.” Shirabu practically threw the box towards Umeko. She fumbled a little but was able to catch it.

“Whaaa~ don’t be like that, Shirabu!” Tendou opened his box and showed Umeko the contents, “It’s a lucky charm.”

Umeko’s eyes widened, sitting on the plush interior of the box was a small charm shaped like a crown, it was an addition to the charm bracelet she was wearing. “Tendou…I...t-thank you” She gave him a brief hug which he returned. “I’ll take care of it.”

“Good, good.” He attached the charm to her bracelet then gestured to the box Shirabu had thrown to her.

Taking the hint, she opened the second box, just like the first gift the second also held a small charm. However, this time the design was of a small pocket watch and compass. Without a doubt it was referencing the time travel theories she shared with Shirabu. “Thank you, Shirabu,” She gave him a hug, but unlike Tendou, Shirabu didn’t return it but instead flailed slightly surprised by the contact. 

“That’s enough you can let go now, I saw it coincidentally and thought you would appreciate the design.” Shirabu gently pried Umeko off him. “Give me your arm, I’ll put it on you.” Ever so carefully Shirabu attached the charm to her bracelet. Truthfully, Shirabu did want to get Umeko a good luck charm of some kind but he had no idea what to get her, although thanks to Umeko not omitting a single detail of the date, he was able to choose rather easily. However, Shirabu didn’t expect to run into Tendou while shopping. “Now go so you won’t be late.”

Umeko nodded with renewed determination. “I’ll do my absolute bestest.” She laughed then ran into the venue with a wave goodbye. As soon as she entered the building the atmosphere changed once more. The pressure from the whispers alone were almost overwhelming. This was the last year for many competitors -herself included- and they couldn’t afford to make any mistakes.

Many college representatives attended the event to scout out promising students and grant them either early admission and or a scholarship. The students were more than eager to impress.

“Well, would you look at this.” A girl with long black hair tied in pigtails stood in front of Umeko with no intention to move. “Even as last year’s champion aren't you looking down on us too much?” She had noticed Umeko's injury and grimaced. “Were you not confident in your skills that you had to go hurt yourself? I suppose you would need an excuse to fall back on. You know, for when you lose.”

The Umeko from before would have shrunk back and not said a word, but this time she held her ground. After the time she had spent with the Volleyball team she had grown more confident in herself. The importance of talking to people or just standing by her actions -both good and bad- was one of the many Shirabu taught lessons that she had learned.

“It’s been a while Mitsuki.” Umeko's smile didn’t falter. “I can see you are as irritating as ever.”


	33. To Face Adversity

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Let the competition begin!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The voices in my head may or may not be real, but they have some good ideas!
> 
> Happy Reading~

Mitsuki felt her eye twitch. Umeko’s response was not what she was expecting. “So, you think you can talk to me like that now? You’ve gotten pretty ballsy after a year.” Mitsuki took a step closer to Umeko in an attempt to make herself look taller. “You wanna say that again, Akiyama?”

Umeko tilted her head, “I said you were irritating. Are you sure your ears aren't just for decoration?” She was completely unaffected by Mitsuki’s attempt to look taller than she actually was, Umeko was friends with the volleyball team members and all of them were tall.

“I can get my daddy to kick you out you know.” Mitsuki glared daggers at Umeko. It had been a year since they last met and Mitsuki did not appreciate her verbal punching bag growing a spine. Umeko was supposed to be an easy target.

Umeko sneered. “Well, I guess you probably want to win through cheating, since you can’t win with your level of skill.” Umeko knew what pushed Mitsuki’s buttons the most. “How sad, the daughter of the sponsor unable to even make it into the top five.” She shrugged. “Now that I think about it, you couldn’t even win ‘people’s choice’, Isn't that right, Genius Mitsuki?”

“Y-You…” Mitsuki’s scowl grew ever more terrifying. Umeko only told the truth and it irked her. Mitsuki was supposed to be better. She was supposed to be the best. Growing up Mitsuki was hailed as a genius. Every competition she attended she would place in the top three, no matter who her opponents were, to put it bluntly, she had an incredible amount of talent. _But then this Akiyama came out of nowhere and knocked me off third place. I was supposed to be on the podium._ The thought alone was enough to make her blood boil. “I am the superior artist; you are just a fraud.”

Umeko dropped her smile. “I don’t think you have a right to say that after what you did, or perhaps you need a refresher on what happened last year.”

The second time Umeko participated in the competition she had foolishly put her bag down unattended while she took a quick walk. During the time she was away, someone had rummaged through her stuff and stole her rough draft. It was safe to say that by the end of the competition it was obvious who the thief was. “I had to redo my entire piece because of you.”

“You can’t even prove it was me.” Mitsuki laughed and shook her head. “I didn’t steal anything, I came up with the idea all by myself, perhaps you were the one who copied me?”

Never in her life had Umeko met someone so shameless. She grit her teeth unamused by Mitsuki’s antics. “If I recall correctly that year, I placed first and you didn’t even make it into the top five. I suppose that’s retribution for cheating, huh?” Umeko smiled innocently. “How do you plan to cheat this year?” There was no point in continuing the conversation so Umeko simply walked past the pigtailed girl and waved. “I’m looking forward to what you have planned this year. Show me something good.”

Mitsuki was rendered speechless as she watched Umeko walk off. _This bitch. She is supposed to cower like the meek wimp she is._ The only sense of superiority that Mitsuki had against Umeko had vanished. With how she acted it was hard to believe that Umeko was the pushover from last year. _Whatever, with that arm she’ll never win._ Mitsuki smirked and looked at the item she was holding. _Though just to be extra sure. Akiyama won't be using these._

\--------

Once Umeko was out of sight she took a deep breath then let out a sigh of relief. “That was so scary…” She wasn’t sure if she was exhilarated or terrified by what she had just done, if there had been more people Umeko would have definitely not been able to keep up her confident façade.

“I’m surprised you were able to say something.”

Umeko jolted back and into a wall. She winced on impact then turned up to face the unknown voice. “Who are you?” Umeko studied the older woman suspiciously as she regained her bearings, Umeko kept her face neutral in attempts to conceal the sharp pain that began to throb in her hand.

“Oh my, don’t be so on guard, dear.” The blonde woman smiled warmly. “I'm Mitsuki’s mother. I know we don’t really look alike; she takes after my husband.”

“W-Wha... I-I um.” Umeko stumbled over her words, not sure on how to respond. _Maybe an apology for speaking to her daughter that way? But…_ Umeko looked down at her feet in preparation to be scolded, she didn’t want to apologize to Mitsuki, she was the one who started it anyway.

“You gave her quite the verbal lashing.” Mitsuki’s mother huffed. “Well, I suppose someone had to. I’ll only let you off this time because Mitsuki did deserve it, so don’t hang your head like that, ok?” She looked at her watch. “Besides, I believe it’s time for you to get to your seat. The competition is about to start.”

“Huh?” Umeko looked back up towards the woman bewildered. “So, I can go?” Her words were slow as she gauged the woman’s reaction.

“Well of course. You are a competitor.”

While Umeko didn’t fully understand what just happened she was grateful to be dismissed. Umeko wasn’t someone to kick a gift horse in the mouth. “Yes. Um, I’ll be off.”

“Have fun, dear.”

Thankfully the set up for the competition was easy to navigate, there were only five areas in total and she only needed to learn the location of two. Once she reached her destination, she was a little out of breath, though fortunately she was able to make it to the exhibition hall within the allotted time. It was a plain white room with an abundance of windows lining the walls, so much so that it seemed like the walls were made of glass itself. There were separate workstations lined up in rows a few feet apart from one another to give each competitor enough space to work. Umeko wandered around before she found her name plate, canvas and the corresponding workspace.

“Students please take your seats and we will start shortly.” There was a man wearing a tieless black suit standing on top of a small stage in the front of the room. He held the microphone in his hand and the most absurd hairstyle Umeko had ever seen in her life. Though she wasn’t quite sure if it was fortunate or unfortunate that the style suit him to an unsettling degree.

As promised, it wasn’t long before the man began to talk again. “Welcome to the Annual Youth Art Competition (AYAC)!” The announcer waved to his audience then pulled out an envelope from his inner suit pocket. “Inside this envelope is the theme for this year’s art. But of course, before I open this, I’d like to say thank you to all the sponsors who have helped make all this possible and the colleges that have come to witness and nurture these future students.”

A handful of people stood up and gave a quick bow. Half of them seemed to be wearing business suits while the other half was dressed in business casual. Umeko figured that the more formal of the two groups were the sponsors while the other half were college representatives.

The man on the stage cleared his throat. “Now, since this is everyone’s third year competing, I expect you should all know the rules by now.” Honestly speaking he didn’t want to reiterate the rules, so he continued to talk and move on from the prior topic. “The only thing different about this year is that the first-place winner will get a full ride scholarship to any art program they so choose.” There was a pause while the audience settled down. “Don’t be too disheartened if you lose because regardless of where you rank there is a possibility that some college representatives will offer scholarships to the talents who catch their eye. The judging will be based on technique, creativity, overall aesthetic and how appropriate the artwork is to the theme. The three judges will decide first, second and third place while the votes from the general populace will decide the ‘people’s choice’ piece.”

He smiled brightly. “Now then let’s get this underway, shall we?”

The man on the stage began to open the envelope at a seemingly agonizingly slow pace. “The theme for this year’s Annual Youth Art Competition is….” He paused for dramatic effect, “…unexpected strength against all odds! You have three hours to complete this task. Please begin.”

Umeko groaned internally. She absolutely hated when the theme was described in a sentence, there were just too many ways to interpret the wording. _Unexpected strength against all odds? What kind of theme is that even?_ Umeko stared blankly at her canvas in attempts to understand the topic at a deeper level _._

_I_ _have three hours. I can do this…_


	34. Overcoming Adversity

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Competition time

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Isn't it odd the way everyone automatically assumes that the goo in soap dispensers is always soap? Since that's the case, I'd like to fill mine with mayonnaise, just to teach people a lesson in trust. 
> 
> Enjoy!

With her left hand Umeko pulled out her pencil from the front pocket of her bag, she could feel the dull sting from her right hand despite it not doing anything. Frankly speaking, Umeko was reluctant to even hold the pencil at this rate. _Why now of all times?_ Umeko closed her eyes and took a deep breath to both calm her nerves and clear her mind.

There were plenty of different ideas that floated around in her head but none of them seemed to quite fit. It didn’t speak to her. _Maybe a half face portrait, zoomed right into the eyes? No, that’s not it_. She furrowed her eyebrows as she urged herself to focus.

“What is my goal?” She mumbled quietly to herself. “What is my obstacle?” She took a deep breath and let all the distractions fade into the background. The only sound that she could hear was her own slow breathing and heartbeat. _Perhaps a person…with a lion silhouette beside them?_ That was closer than her last idea, but it wasn’t quite there yet. That idea fell closer to inner strength and that was not what she needed.

“A silhouette of a lone person…” She began her quiet muttering as she tried to put the pieces together. “The background is the overwhelming force they are facing.” Her eyes snapped open. _That’s it!_ Umeko placed the pencil in her right hand and winced at the effort as had to put in to curl her fingers around it. The pain in her hand tingled and slowly increased with every movement she made. The pencil was uncomfortable to keep hold of, but she refused to let go. Umeko needed to start sketching out her draft if she wanted enough time to start painting. _Unexpected strength against all odds…. What a strangely fitting topic for this predicament._

****

****

**_-_ ** **\----ONE AND A HALF HOURS LATER-----**

Umeko sighed in relief once she finally finished drawing her sketch. The canvas was much larger than she originally thought it was, she took a moment to look at the canvas as a whole. She had chosen to go with a fantastical world where the ‘overwhelming odds’ were represented as a singular large dragon against the ‘unexpected strength’ of a single soldier who would otherwise have no chances of victory.

Umeko put her pencil down and flexed her trembling right hand. Through the whole drawing process, she had to grit her teeth and bear with the unpleasant pain. She opened her bag to look for her paint brushes, it took a few seconds of rummaging before panic settled in. _Where are my brushes?_ Umeko was absolutely certain that she had packed them earlier in the week and brought them, there was no way she would forget them or take them out for that matter. However, if that was the case then what happened to the brushes?

Umeko looked around helplessly unsure of what to do, just before she looked down, she made eye contact with Mitsuki. Mitsuki gave her a quick wink paired with a sly smile before she turned back to her own work. Umeko didn’t like to point fingers for no reason but she was almost one hundred percent certain that Mitsuki had done something.

****

****

**_-_ ** **\----THIRTY MINUTES LATER-----**

Umeko bit her bottom lip as she desperately tried to think of a solution to her problem. She didn’t bring enough pencils to change the media of her artwork, she couldn’t finger paint because her right hand still had some bandages around it, and she didn’t have anything else to use. Her ears started to ring as a torrent of negative thoughts began to filter through her mind. _What can I do? There is nothing to do… forget about a scholarship, I can’t even turn in my work._ Umeko felt her face heat up and her eyes water.

She looked through her bag again half ready to quit, just before she gave up, she noticed something in the outer back pocket of her bag. It was a pocket she rarely used because she would frequently forget she put anything in it. Hoping for the best but expecting the worst she pulled out the rectangular box.

Umeko’s eyes widened. _These are my watercolor pens?! How did they even get in here? I thought I left them on my desk._ Umeko remembered Shirabu asking her about them and her strongly refusing to bring them _. Did he slip them in when I wasn’t looking?_ Before she could think too hard about what led to the pens being in the bag she moved on. There was no point in wasting time. She only had one hour left and an entire painting to finish.

There were a few main problems amongst all the others Umeko didn’t want to look at. One, Umeko did not like watercolors. Two, she would need to redo her whole idea because watercolors just didn’t have the same punch acrylics did. And three, she wasn’t that great at using the pens. _I knew I should have practiced._ There was no point in lamenting over the past as she began erasing her previous drawing, she was on a time crunch and needed to be fast.

Once the canvas was completely empty, she wracked her brain searching for a different idea, any idea of what would work with both her watercolor pens and the theme. Unlike last time she was able to come up with a new idea fairly quickly. Ignoring the growing pain, she did the fastest pencil outline she had done in her life then picked up her brush tipped pen. What felt like a jolt of electricity bloomed in her hand which caused Umeko to drop the pen she was holding. It clattered to the ground which left a resounding echo through the room. It was far from the loudest sound made but its quiet spoke volumes. Umeko’s chest felt constricted as the memories of the first day resurfaced. She remembered the sheer amount of times she had dropped her pencil and the hopelessness she felt. The frustration that was almost enough to break her if not for the help of her friends.

A familiar voice in her head cleared her thoughts _. ‘No matter how many times you have dropped your pencil you have always picked it back up’_. Umeko felt the cold metal on her wrist from the bracelet. _It’s ok I can do this._ She picked the watercolor pen back up, uncapped it and began to complete her drawing with a vigor and determination Umeko didn’t know she still had.

Umeko’s hand moved over the canvas as if it had a mind of its own. There was no need to actively think about where to put which colors. Odd as it may be, it was soothing. Her hand moved instinctively to the right spot building a new picture, one that she had only seen in her mind’s eye. It took all she had to push back the unnecessary thoughts and despite the occasional sting, she felt at ease.

The painting finally began to take shape. The tone she chose was muted; the style reminiscent of Monet. Each stroke of her brush-nibbed pen had an almost smudging quality that rendered the image watery, like a reflection in a rippled pond. She had but a few mere minutes to add the finishing touches, but it was more than enough time.

“And stop! Students, please stop working. Time is up.” The host appeared seemingly out of nowhere with a microphone in his hand. “All of you write down the name of your piece and sign your work, we will be bringing all your works to the exhibition hall for judging. After we have finished, we will open the hall for you and for the guests to enjoy.” He smiled and pointed to the side exit door. “For now, you may do what you please, just be back in an hour.”

Umeko did as told then packed up her stuff. She had decided that it was pointless to try and get her brushes back because Mitsuki would deny that she did anything at all. “Well, I did what I could.” Umeko looked at her piece one more time before she walked out of the room. Despite everything that had happened she felt more than satisfied with her work. It was worth the pain, stress and almost tears.

“Umeko!”

Umeko looked up to the familiar voice and her eyes landed on two familiar faces. Shirabu gave her a small wave while Tendou practically jumped in place. She hastily tottered over to her friends with a smile. “You guys! You’re here.”

Ushijima appeared to her left holding a large paper bag in one hand and a small container in the other. “We wouldn’t have left you behind.” He handed her a small container; it was warm in Umeko’s hands and judging from the smell she could guess what it was.

“How did it go?” Shirabu was the first to ask. Umeko looked a little more tired than what one would expect from an art competition. Though since he had never participated in one himself, he wasn’t too sure if it was normal for a competitor to be tired to that extent.

“Well…”


	35. Battle of Artistry

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Waiting for the results

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The inventor of the Pringles can is now buried in one.
> 
> Happy Reading!

Umeko thanked Ushijima before she answered Shirabu. “It was…. good?” She quickly put a Crab Cream Croquette in her mouth and made a blissed-out expression.

“Why did you phrase it like a question?” Ushijima raised an eyebrow in suspicion. “Did something happen?”

Umeko looked away guiltily and put another croquette in her mouth to avoid answering.

“U-me-ko” Tendou moved closer and bent down so his face was eye level with hers. “You can’t just not answer because your mouth is full. Otherwise I’d have to take your food away from you.”

Umeko swallowed and her eyes widened. “You wouldn’t dare…”

“Oh, but I would” He grinned playfully. Tendou stood back up triumphant. “So, anything you’d like to say?”

Umeko pouted. “Well, I had to change my ideas a few times because I ended up using my watercolor pens instead of my acrylics.” She wasn’t going to tell her friends anything about Mitsuki, what happened was now in the past and it was handled. Well, as far as Umeko was willing to handle it.

“Didn’t you hate watercolor pens?” Shirabu inquired, rather perplexed by why she used something she didn’t practice nor like.

“Um, well I thought the picture would be better with them, you know?” Umeko lied through her teeth with a smile, as much as it made her feel bad, she didn’t want to involve her friends in any drama as well as make excuses for her own results.

Tendou nodded then hummed along. “I see, I see. So. What was the topic of the competition?” He chirped.

Umeko wasn’t really sure if Tendou had guessed something was up or if he just changed the topic out of curiosity but regardless, she was glad to talk about something that didn’t have to do with her missing paint brushes.

“Unexpected strength against all odds. It was pretty difficult at first to choose what to do and for a while I almost gave up.” She smiled then held up her right hand to show off the bracelet on her wrist. “But the good luck charm helped me through it.” She blushed slightly embarrassed about what she just said. Umeko knew that what she said sounded beyond cheesy but there was no other way to say it. “So, um. Thanks for being there.”

****

****

**_-_ ** **\----ONE HOUR LATER-----**

Umeko looked at the clock on the wall. “Ah, the exhibition hall must be ready by now.” She turned to face her friends. “Do you want to come see all the art pieces?”

“Of course!” Tendou abruptly stood up from his seat with renewed excitement. Honestly, Tendou didn’t typically enjoy strolling through art exhibitions and museums much at all. The atmosphere was always too quiet and proper for his liking, however, he would make an exception this time.

The other two boys nodded in agreement and also stood up. “Lead the way, Ume.” Ushijima offered a hand to help Umeko up and she took it gratefully. Just as Umeko was about to pull her hand away he held onto it firmly to stop her from letting go. “You…don’t want to?” His voice came out more uncertain than he expected it would, but he didn’t want to pressure her by being too commandeering.

Umeko felt the heat rise to her cheeks and the blush creep up to the tips of her ears. “U-uh w-well.” She kept her hand in place and looked away from making eye contact with Ushijima.

Seeming to take her hesitation as rejection, Ushijima released her hand without fuss.

Umeko hastily stopped him before he could let go entirely. “I…I mean I don’t hate it…” Her voice was small as she managed to pluck up the courage to look back up at Ushijima. “If it’s still ok with you?”

Ushijima had to hold back the urge to pull her in with how cute Umeko was being. There was a huge sense of gratification just knowing that he was able to make her blush as much as she was. “Yes.” He held her hand firmly and walked beside her as she led the way.

Tendou walked behind them, mouth agape. So many things were happening way too fast for him to properly take it in. His best friend, the Wakatoshi himself was being so gentle. He had never seen Umeko and Ushijima’s close interactions but now that Tendou had, there was no denying that the pair were smitten with each other.

Shirabu on the other hand was less than thrilled. His face was twisted into disbelief and disgust with how sweet Ushijima and Umeko were. If the pair were any sweeter than they were now, Shirabu was certain he would have diabetes. He walked beside Tendou having a silent conversation along the lines of ‘what is going on?’ and ‘aren't they cute?’. It was just so bizarre to see their team’s stoic volleyball obsessed captain in his current state. _Though…_ Shirabu watched the happy pair in front of him and sighed. _I suppose this isn’t too bad._

It wasn’t very long before the group entered the exhibition hall. It wasn’t completely full, but it contained more people than they were all expecting. There was a variety of people from small children to the elderly, however the majority of the population was made up of students and what they assumed were the college representatives. Despite the hall being an impromptu art museum, the atmosphere was lively, but the air was charged with nervous energy.

They all wandered around the room for a once over, there were numerous different styles and mediums of art displayed on the walls and podiums but in the center of everything there was a ballot box that was so ornate it could have been mistaken as an art piece itself. “You guys can vote for your favorite piece and put your vote in the ballot box. The results get added up for the ‘people’s choice’ award.”

Umeko finally led the group over to her artwork. “Here it is.” She gestured to the painting in front of them. It was a tall cityscape from a perspective of someone small. A variety of greys, whites and blacks flooded the image as its main color palette. However, in the center of the painting was a lone dandelion growing through a crack in the concrete. The only splash of unmuted color was the sunshine yellow from the flower head and the almost ethereal blue of the small butterfly that sat delicately on its petals.

The watercolors gave the picture a hazy almost dreamlike appearance which was especially emphasized when two different colors mixed. Honestly speaking it was her best watercolor piece to date and Umeko was immensely proud of it. “I’m pretty terrible at choosing names so I just went with ‘Resilience’.” She paused and fidgeted in place. “So, what do you think?”

The three boys were stunned by the painting. It wasn’t really what any of them were expecting. That’s not to say it was bad, it wasn't bad at all, but despite being so simple it fit the theme very well. Flowers were usually fragile and only grow in certain environments, unless it is a dandelion. It has the tenacious features of a weed; it doesn’t matter if it’s in a flower field or a bustling city the dandelion is sure to grow.

Unexpected strength against all odds was a very fitting topic for the flower.

“It’s well done.” Ushijima was the first to speak. He wasn’t being biased in his statement; it was without a doubt one of better art pieces in the room.

Before anyone else was able to speak Mitsuki appeared beside the group and cleared her throat. “Well, what is this? It seems you were able to pull out something decent after all.”

Umeko feigned a smile. “You make it sound like you weren’t expecting much. I wonder why?” Umeko’s voice was sweet but had an undertone of hostility laced in her words.

“Of course, it’s because you looked so nervous earlier.” Mitsuki played the part of ‘concerned acquaintance’ flawlessly. “And, um. Your hand is hurt so I was worried.”

Perhaps if Mitsuki wasn’t at odds with her then Umeko might have been impressed by her skill. Maybe Mitsuki had a career in theater awaiting her. Umeko didn't skip a beat as she responded. “How kind of you to be worried on my behalf.” 

“Well, it’s the least I can do for a friend.” She smiled innocently and looked up to the three other members present. “Ah, forgive me. I forgot to introduce myself. You can call me Mitsuki. I’m Akiyama’s friend.”

The three boys looked at each other briefly confused before they turned back to face the girl. As presumptuous as it may sound, all three boys were certain that Umeko did not have any ‘out of school' friends. However, regardless of this they all returned Mitsuki’s greeting.

“Nice to meet ‘cha. I'm Tendou” Tendou flashed a slightly menacing grin as she leaned down towards the girl. He wasn’t purposely trying to come off as unsettling, that was just how Tendou’s first impressions usually went. “Umeko is a veeeeeeeeeerrrryyyyy important person to us, so do take care.”

Unlike Tendou, Shirabu held back a grimace and put on an affable smile. He could tell there was some tension between the two girls, and he wanted no part in it. The best course of action was to attempt to at least seem neutral, though from Tendou’s statement alone, it seemed the side he was on was already determined. “Shirabu. It’s a pleasure.”

“Nice to meet you, Mitsuki.” Ushijima nodded but made no further attempts at an introduction. A simple greeting was enough of an effort. However amicable Mitsuki seemed, Ushijima was not so blind as to not see the clear hostility Mitsuki held for Umeko.


	36. Better than Roses

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The results we've all been waiting for.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Baby Puffins are called Pufflings 
> 
> Enjoy!

Umeko awkwardly stood in place making no move to push for a conversation, Ushijima managed to kill that possibility immediately much to her internal delight. As petty as it was, Umeko did feel a sense of gratification upon seeing Mitsuki’s dumbfounded expression.

“Well, hm. It’s going to be voting time soon so I was wondering if you four would like to see my art piece before then.” Mitsuki pressed on, undeterred by her audience’s lack of interest. “It’d make me really happy. Is it alright, Umeko?”

Umeko plastered on her best smile and pushed down her disagreements. If she was being completely honest with herself, she would rather not go see what Mitsuki had created. In fact, if she had it her way Umeko wouldn’t have even spoken to Mitsuki. Unfortunately, she couldn’t exactly refuse when Mitsuki put her on the spot. Umeko didn’t want to come off as rude in front of the people who were actually her friends. Umeko bit back her complaints “Of course, it’s alright.”

Mitsuki led the group over to the opposite side of the room, she had created a large abstract piece called ‘From Within’. The strokes of blacks, blues and greys filled the canvas with the exception of what seemed to look speckles of silver and gold. The stark contrast between the two extremes was divided in the center with a single jagged strip of white paint. The division was relatively thin but expanded once it reached the center. It was an interesting piece to say the least.

“Wow. It’s a lot.” Umeko was not one to find beauty in abstract art and she feared she may never fully understand why people liked it so much, but she would at least appreciate the effort of the critics who went out of their way to appreciate the style.

Mitsuki scoffed and stood with a smug look on her face. “I am a genius after all.” Mitsuki handed three unfilled ballots to Umeko’s friends -presumably to vote with- before she began gesturing to certain areas of her painting. “Do you see right here it is depicting the darkness, the pure misfortune one would have to encounter and these speckles here are the perfect representation of hope itself. With the thickening of the white paint in the center it shows the perseverance and inner strength that is within every single one of us.”

Umeko wasn’t sure if Mitsuki was just making this up as she went along or if she actually meant every word. Perhaps it was both. Either way it was clear to Umeko that Mitsuki was very proud of what she had accomplished.

“And when the whole piece is complete it creates just a beautiful symphony of despair, hope and tenacity.” Mitsuki sighed then turned to face the group once more. “You all agree, right?”

“Hm?! Oh, yes totally. One hundred and ten percent.” Tendou snapped out of his wandering thoughts. He -like Umeko- had no idea what the heck Mitsuki was going on about. Somewhere in the middle of her little spiel Tendou’s thoughts went elsewhere.

“I’m glad you all understand my greatness. I thank you all in advance for the vote.” Mitsuki giggled with a wink.

Thankfully, before anyone could respond, the announcer began talking through the intercom. “Ladies and gentlemen, it is time for us to collect the ballots. In an orderly manner please place your votes in the box. We will announce the results of the competition shortly. Thank you for your patience!”

****

****

**_-_ ** **\----TWENTY MINUTES LATER-----**

As promised, not too long after the announcement, the participants and their guests were ushered into a larger hall for the results. There was a stage in the front where the announcer and three seasoned judges stood. Assuming the event was going to be the same as the year prior, the winners would be brought on stage to receive their reward before taking their spot on the podium.

“Finally, it’s what you have all been waiting for!” The announcer’s actions remained as exaggerated as ever as he waved to the audience. He cleared his throat before he pulled out a single white envelope from the inside pocket of his suit. “Without further ado, let’s get started.” The announcer opened the envelope.

Umeko felt her restlessness increase as she had to actively stop herself from fidgeting in place. She wanted to win, to be part of the top three at least, but even she had to admit the chances of that happening were slim to none. She took a deep breath then clasped her hands together. Umeko decided that she would hope for the best but expect the worst.

“In third place we have Kanai Atsushi with his piece ‘Ephemera’!” A large drawing was brought to the front wall. The image seemed to be an Atlantic puffling preparing for its first flight. It was tucked into a crevice inside the cliffside just above the sea water relentlessly hitting the rocks. Above the cliffside there was a herring gull circling the sky waiting for its next meal. Depending on one’s perspective it was possible that it could be depicting the final moments of the puffling’s short lived life. The drawing was finished in pencil and was completely devoid of color.

The announcer waited for the applause to die down before he continued. “Second place goes to Miki Emiko with her piece ‘The Impossible’!” Her artwork was brought out and placed next to ‘Ephemera’. As far as Umeko was aware, ‘The Impossible’ was the only entry that was entirely pastel. Even she had to admit that it was worth the hassle. Unlike the prior piece, ‘The Impossible’ was akin to a splash of color, the image depicted however was the aftermath of a tsunami. In the center there were a handful of strangers who supported one another simply because of human compassion. It was a beautiful piece.

“And finally, in first place… the winner of this competition…” There was an overly long dramatic pause “…is Otani Seiichi with his mixed media piece ‘Beyond’!” A medium sized canvas was brought in, it was a simple piece perhaps minimal being the better term for it. It was a sunset with the silhouette of a rock climber scaling the mountain. The very top of the mountain, the rock climber’s goal, wasn’t too much farther. There was no unnecessary flair nor excessive colors; it was a straightforward work.

The artwork wasn’t bad at all. Though if Umeko was being honest, she preferred ‘The Impossible’. It was a little surprising that it wasn’t the winner, unless the artist made a technical error. Umeko groaned internally at the memory of dropping her watercolor pen, _ah yes, technical error points._ A flood of disappointment washed over her as they finished announcing the top three _. I should have tried harder. I should have been better._

“Everyone, give a round of applause for this year’s winners!”

While Umeko wholeheartedly congratulated the winners there was a little piece of her that wished she could have won. Umeko pushed away her darker thoughts -she had no need for those- and tried to think of the positives. The thin silver lining was that despite what Mitsuki had schemed, Mitsuki still couldn’t reach the top three.

The announcer waited for the applause to die down before he began to speak once more. “And finally, we have finished tallying the results; today’s last award for ‘people’s choice’ was surprisingly close this year. There was only a one-point difference between the top two.” He chuckled then paused for an unnecessarily long time and put all the participants on edge. Unlike the last awards, ‘people’s choice’ was not scored for technical points. It was just based on which art piece was the most popular. “This year’s winner is Akiyama Umeko!” Applause filled the air for the last time that day as her painting was placed beside the other works.

Umeko had to hold back a squeal of delight as she walked onto the stage beside the other artists. Sure, she didn’t place in the top three but even so, Umeko was grateful that people liked her work enough to vote for it especially considering the circumstances. Umeko looked into the crowd and waved proudly to her friends. Eventually her eyes drifted to Mitsuki. Umeko knew that it was a little immature and petty of her but when she made eye contact with Mitsuki she gave a quick wink and the most innocent smile she could muster. Umeko felt immense satisfaction when Mitsuki stormed off red faced and clearly upset. _Totally worth it._

Once Umeko hopped off stage she immediately ran over and started a group hug. It was a little awkward with three tall volleyball players and a tiny artist but Umeko couldn’t care less and she allowed herself this moment.

Ushijima was the first to release the hug much to Umeko’s disappointment. He opened the second bag he was holding and pulled out a colorful bouquet of flowers. With no hesitation he handed them to Umeko. “Congratulations, Ume.” He placed his hand on top of Umeko’s head in his version of a head pat.

Umeko looked at the flowers in her arms then her eyes widened. “When did you have time to make this?” The entire bouquet, from the wrapping to the flowers themselves were made of different colored origami paper. Despite being made out of paper it was completely possible to mistake the flowers for real ones.

“Sakuma taught me how.” He gestured to the flowers. “I made Peruvian Lilies, Sunflowers, Acacias, Primroses and Gloxinias.” Ushijima’s face heated up with a gentle shade of pink. “Do…you like them?”

Umeko blushed just as bright, she wasn’t sure if Ushijima knew, but Umeko was very aware of what each flower meant. “I really, really love them.” She gave him another hug while being careful not to crumple the flowers. “Thank you.”


	37. The Lion and The Unicorn

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Competition is over and life is peaceful again

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What does a panda ghost eat? Bam-BOO!

When Umeko returned back to the school campus the remainder of the boys’ volleyball team took it upon themselves to hold a little celebration for her award. Needless to say, Umeko had thoroughly enjoyed the time well spent. Unfortunately, Umeko did not have the energy nor stamina of an athlete which resulted in her immediately crashing when she got back to her room.

Umeko groaned as the soft rays of the sun filtered through her curtains. “Sun…can’t you go back down for just a few more minutes?” Naturally the sun didn’t respond or pay heed her plea “Thank goodness it’s a weekend.” Umeko grumbled, still unmoving.

Her phone began to ring. _Should I get that? I don’t think I forgot anything… But what if it’s important?_ Before Umeko could properly decide on what to do next, the ringing stopped. Under normal circumstances she would have reached for the phone but in this case, she was too tired to do anything.

Her phone began to buzz as she heard the text notification ring. She turned around to face away from her phone and tried to ignore the incessant noise. A barrage of pings and buzzes started to overwhelm her phone. _Ok, ok I’ll get it._ Umeko very carefully stretched one of her hands out of the blanket to reach for her phone on the table. The phone buzzed a few more times before her fingertips grazed the side of the offending object. “A little more…” She moved closer to the edge of the bed which caused her left hand to tangle with her blanket. Just before Umeko was able to grab hold of her phone her hand slipped, and she gracelessly tumbled off her bed with a hard thump.

“Owww” Umeko winced as she sat up. _That’s one way to wake up._ After that fall there was no chance of her going back to sleep. Umeko didn’t move off the floor but instead looked at who was blowing up her phone with text messages.

**_Alien King:_ ** _Aki-chan!_

**_Alien King_ ** _: Hey!_

**_Alien King:_ ** _are you still asleep?_

**_Alien King:_ ** _wake up already_

**_Alien King:_ ** _Aki-chan_

**_Alien King_ ** _: Aki-chan_

**_Alien King:_ ** _Aki-chan_

**_Alien King:_ ** _Aki-chan_

Umeko grimaced. _Somehow, I'm not surprised at all._ From the useless spam Oikawa texted her at the bottom she didn’t even want to think about all the other messages he sent. To her utter defeat she decided to text him back. 

**_Time Traveler:_ ** _You woke me up._

**_Time Traveler:_ ** _I fell out of bed_

**_Time Traveler:_ ** _and it really hurt :(_

**_Alien King:_ ** _lol sucks_

**_Alien King:_ ** _You know what else sucks?_

**_Alien King:_ ** _When my own dearest childhood friend doesn’t tell me how her competition went after I waited for hours to hear back from her._

**_Time Traveler:_ ** _I thought I told you????_

Umeko scrolled all the way up to the last message she sent, Oikawa was right. Umeko had indeed forgotten to text the group chat what the results of the competition were.

**_Time Traveler:_ ** _Sorry, I thought I did._

**_Alien King:_ ** _How could you!?_

**_Alien King:_ ** _Did we raise you like this?_

**_Alien King:_ ** _oh, the horror._

**_Alien King:_ ** _Iwa-chan I know you are awake. Say something too :D_

**_Godzilla:_ ** _Something._

**_Alien King:_ ** _Iwa-chan!_

**_Time traveler:_ ** _Nice cover <3 _

Umeko giggled at their group chat antics. After Umeko had decided that Oikawa had sent a sufficient amount of crying emojis she decided to start a group call and tell them what had happened.

****

****

**_-_ ** **\----ONE STORY LATER-----**

“…and yeah. That’s it.” Umeko smiled from her side of the phone -not that anyone could see it. “Even though there were some minor hiccups it was fun.” Umeko stood up off the floor and began to tidy up her bed. Now that she was fully awake, she could at least use some of her time ‘productively’.

“Did you get any scholarship offers like you hoped?” Iwaizumi’s voice reverberated clearly through the speakers.

“Oh my goodness! I haven’t checked my emails yet!” Umeko hastily opened her laptop and pulled up her email account. There was a prolonged silence as she looked through her messages.

“Aki-chan? Are you still there?” Oikawa furrowed his eyebrows and looked at his phone screen to make sure he hadn’t accidentally ended the call. “Aki?” Not even a few seconds after he called her name Oikawa heard her crying.

“Hey, Aki are you alright?! What’s wrong?!” Iwaizumi’s voice was laced with concern as a multitude of different possibilities came to mind.

“I-I got it…” Umeko’s voice was so small that it was hard to hear.

“What?”

“I-I got it. I got the scholarship for the university I want to go to!” Umeko used her sleeve to wipe away the unintentional tears of happiness. “I did it!” She couldn’t stop grinning as she practically shouted into her phone. After reading the email she was ecstatic, the school she always dreamed off had offered her a full ride scholarship to their art program. “This is real right?! I'm not dreaming?”

“Congratulations!” Both boys began to smile at Umeko’s celebration. Her energy and happiness were infectious. They both knew the significance this moment held for her.

Umeko squealed and let out a string of unintelligible noise where her words should have been. Despite falling out of bed a few minutes ago, the email had completely made her day. In fact, there was nothing else that could happen to bring her day down. Of course, she refrained from saying anything of the sort out loud just in case.

\---------

Ushijima turned off the shower and got out to dry himself and change. He left the towel on his damp hair then he sat back down on his bed. Despite the late celebration from the day before, Ushijima had not neglected his morning run. Granted the run took a bit longer than usual but he didn’t want to slack on his training and skip a day.

“Wakatoshi!” Tendou burst into the room just as energetic as the night prior. “The paper lantern festival is being held soon!” He bounded over to Ushijima then handed him the flyer. It was a colorful image of fireworks and a lantern flying alongside it. “Tada! It’ll be next, next week. Isn’t it exciting?” Tendou’s eyes were filled with a childlike mirth and innocence.

“I see, will we be going with everyone this year as well?” Ushijima flipped the flyer over to see if there was anything else written on it. Once he noted there was nothing there, he returned the flyer back to Tendou.

“Nope!” He chirped as he popped the ‘p’. “Everyone’s free time doesn’t match up this year for one reason or another. Not even mine!” Tendou took the paper back and put it on Ushijima’s desk. If there was one good thing about festivals it would be the food and the game prizes. But of course, this year would be different. Tendou didn’t just show Ushijima the festival flyer for just one reason. “I'm not really sure about Umeko though. Maybe you should ask her.” He smiled before he hastily retreated out of the room. Tendou had already dropped the hint so there was nothing more he could do.

Ushijima didn’t move but stared at his desk for a moment longer before he picked up his phone. He wasn’t sure whether to text or call, though ideally, he would prefer to ask in person. Now that Umeko’s competition was over and the third years had retired from the volleyball club he could focus on other pressing matters. Namely, Umeko. Ushijima had finally come to terms with what he felt about her, it was definitely more than acquaintances and much deeper than friendship, to put it rather bluntly, he liked her.

Unable to decide if he wanted to text or call, Ushijima decided to take a walk outside instead. Before he realized it, Ushijima stood outside of ‘The Thousand Cranes’ clubroom.

\------

Despite hearing the clubroom door open Umeko didn’t look up but rather focused more intensely on trying to fold a crane. After everything that had happened Umeko was slacking on crane making. She needed roughly two hundred more if she wanted to finish on time. 

“You seem to have made a fair amount.” The familiar voice rumbled softly.

Umeko smiled as she finished her crane before she looked up. “Yep.” She gestured to the fifteen completed cranes. “See!” Honestly Umeko was feeling pretty proud of herself for making all of those in the time she did.

“But what about those over there? They don’t look like cranes.” Ushijima teased as he pointed to the handful of other origami animals. “There has to be at least twenty in there.”

“There are only eleven.” Umeko protested with a pout. She picked up a paper lion and placed it on Ushijima’s desk space. “If I give this to you then I only have ten.” She giggled as she placed a paper unicorn beside it. “Nine.” She placed a different animal down followed by another and another till Ushijima had all eleven on his desk. “My gift to you.”

A small smile graced Ushijima’s lips which caused Umeko to swoon internally. “I’ll treasure them well.” Ushijima gently used his finger to pet the paper lion on its head. There was a comfortable silence that soon followed as Umeko began to focus on folding once more. “Ume.”

“Yes?” Umeko finished folding the last part of the crane then set it aside.

“Will you go to the festival with me?”


	38. Festival Clothes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Pre-festival

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I want to be something really scary for Halloween this year so I'm dressing up as a phone battery at 2%
> 
> Enjoy!

“Wow, How straight forward.” Hashimoto leaned back against the building wall. Originally, she was going to enter the room but when she heard Ushijima and Umeko talking, Hashimoto decided to wait outside.

Sakuma shrugged and tapped his chin a few times. “He does seem like the type.” Honestly speaking, Sakuma did plan to barge in the room and ruin the moment, but Hashimoto did everything she could to make sure he didn’t enter.

“It’s not a bad trait for him.” She put her ear against the door in an attempt to listen in on the conversation between Umeko and Ushijima. Hashimoto needed to know if they were finished talking so she could enter.

“Is it a good trait for me?” If Sakuma remembered correctly there were three occasions where Hashimoto called him straight forward, albeit she meant it in a more negative way, but it was the same difference.

Hashimoto scoffed. “It’s awful on you.”

“What, why!?” Sakuma exclaimed in mock horror.

Hashimoto put her fingers to her lips and glared at him. “Shh! They might hear us.”

Sakuma sighed but lowered his volume anyway, “Why is it not a good trait for me?”

“It’s irritating when is from you.” There was no hesitation or sugar coating of Hashimoto’s statement. She wholeheartedly believed her words and did not hesitate to tell Sakuma her opinion. Hashimoto was a firm believer of telling someone about their flaws so the person in question could work on fixing them. Although that line of thinking landed her in hot water quite a few times she would not betray her beliefs.

“Oi, are you trying to pick a fight?” Sakuma responded completely unenthused. While he was expecting her to say something or the other among those lines, it was always a shock when Hashimoto actually said it out loud.

Hashimoto rolled her eyes. “The only fight I’d dare pick with you is a battle of wits. I would never participate in something so barbaric as a fist fight.”

Sakuma held back a snicker of his own. “If I win against you, do I get a prize?” He moved closer to the door with a roguish grin. “What about if I lose? If I lose, do I get compensation?”

Hashimoto raised an eyebrow. “That’s not a fair trade. I’ll lose something either way.”

“That’s the point!” Sakuma chirped.

Before Hashimoto could say anything in return Umeko opened the door. “O-oh, you are both here? How long were you here for? U-Um, you could have come in if you wanted.” Umeko fretted internally if her other clubmates had heard her conversation.

“A whi-”

Sakuma spoke over Hashimoto loudly to gain the attention of the other students. “We just got here!” Unlike Hashimoto, Sakuma was a fair bit better at reading people.

“What? N-”

“We saw each other on the way here and we walked together!” He lied through his teeth with a smile and hoped Hashimoto would get the message. “We were just talking about going to the festival together before we arrived.” Sakuma gave Hashimoto a meaningful look and hoped that she would get the message he was trying to convey.

“First day of the festival by the entrance. Eight in the evening. If you are late, I’ll leave without you.” Hashimoto conceded and agreed to play along with Sakuma’s plan, whatever it may be.

“Cool!” Sakuma grinned and put his hands together pleased. He wasn’t planning on going to the festival, but it was another story if Hashimoto was willing to go with him, for years he tried every method he could think of to convince her to attend, so when she was the one to pick a time and place there was no way he would reject it. “I won’t be even a second late.”

\-------

“Shirabu!” Umeko burst through Shirabu’s door and caused him to yelp in surprise. “I-I just…there was a…and…but like…. ahhh!” She couldn’t decide what to say first so her words just stopped coming out altogether.

Shirabu sighed and put down his pencil. Sometimes he regretted giving Umeko the spare keys to his dorm room but after she had entrusted him with her spare room keys, Shirabu felt pressured to do the same. “Slow down, take a breath then tell me.” he closed his textbook while he waited for Umeko to speak. Judging by how high Umeko’s excitement levels seemed to be, there was little to no chance he would get any studying completed. “Oh, but if you killed someone then don’t tell me. I can’t defend you in court if I know you actually did it.” he added hastily.

Umeko did as told and gathered herself before she began to talk. “First. I did not kill anyone, nor do I plan to. And second, earlier today Ushijima asked me to go to the festival with him!” It took everything she had to just calmly -at least as calmly as possible- retell the story of what had happened.

“Umeko… I hate to be that person, but did you really think he was going to enjoy to the festival with someone else?” Shirabu raised an eyebrow then continued. “It really wasn’t a matter of ‘if’ it was just a matter of ‘when’.”

“Oh.” Umeko was stunned silent by Shirabu’s last statement. Everything that he said made complete sense but somehow the logic had escaped her.

“So, what kind of Yukata are you going to wear?”

It took another five seconds for Umeko to process what Shirabu had asked. “What? Yukata?” Umeko furrowed her eyebrows confused. “Do I have to wear one?”

Shirabu sighed. “Umeko…” She seemed like the kind of person to have a yukata or two somewhere, so it was shocking to find that it wasn’t the case. Though with the changing times, it was uncommon to find someone who wore Yukatas to festivals let alone own a few themselves.

“Say, Shirabuuuuu” Umeko’s voice was sweet as she batted her eyelashes for extra effect. “Would you pretty please help me find a cute one?” The only time she had worn and chosen a Yukata was -assuming she remembered correctly- never. Umeko had seen a few designs and always thought they were pretty however the hassle of putting them on and dolling herself up made Umeko steer away from them.

There was a moment of silence between the two before Shirabu held his hand out. Umeko knew she had won. “Thank you!” She handed her phone over to him and together they began to look up the different designs.

****

****

**_-_ ** **\----TWO WEEKS LATER-----**

Umeko fiddled with her fingers nervously as she waited for Ushijima to arrive. It was finally the night of the festival and it was in full swing. Thanks to Shirabu’s help she managed to find a yukata she liked. Originally, she wanted to get a matching hairpiece but unfortunately the one she wanted was out of stock. Instead of looking for a different one Umeko simply dismissed the idea and claimed that since her hair was short it would be fine if she left it unadorned.

\-------

Ushijima looked around the area in attempts to locate Umeko, it was times like this where he was glad to be tall. “Ume!” Once he spotted Umeko, he called out her name and walked towards her. _Is my hair ok? Am I properly wearing my outfit? Was she waiting here the whole time? Did I get the meeting time wrong?_ The closer he came the more he internally fretted, by the time he was within arm’s reach of her all his unnecessary worries came to a screeching halt.

Umeko perked up to his voice and waved when she noticed him. She wore a deep blue, almost black yukata with a slight tint of silver in the lining and the muted red obi matched perfectly with Umeko’s hair wrap. Close to the bottom of the outfit was a dance of white cranes midflight creating a striking difference in the two colors. Umeko’s black hair was arranged into a braid crown and held in place with a bun. Originally that was where the hair piece was supposed to go, however because of shipping delays, it was not meant to be.

“You look beautiful.” Ushijima's words left his lips unfiltered. It was a quiet murmur against the bustle of the festival, but it didn’t fail to reach Umeko's ears.

Umeko attempted to keep her blush under control as she responded. “You look really good too.” She absolutely meant the compliment she gave. Ushijima was wearing a solid hot chocolate colored yukata with a light grey obi wrapped around his waist. Despite the design being so lackluster, somehow it only managed to increase his charm. Umeko was very happy that she had worn a yukata to the festival; she would have felt incredibly awkward otherwise.

Ushijima held his hand out for Umeko. “Let’s go, I'm sure that there are plenty of things for us to do tonight.” There were no excuses for him to hold her hand this time, he just wanted to be closer and unabashedly did just that.

Without hesitation Umeko intertwined her fingers with Ushijima’s, it took a little while but eventually she got used to his touch. “Yes!” Together they began to wander through the lively festival hand in hand. 


	39. An Elder’s Advice

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Festival part 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> How does a farmer count cows?   
> With a cow-culator
> 
> Happy reading!

The paper lantern festival was bustling with chatter and unrestrained joy. The carefree laughter of children and adults alike circulated around the pair. A multitude of different stalls lined the street, everything from snacks to games and even souvenirs, despite all this noise it was pleasant. An unrelenting mixture of delicious smells filled the air. _I’ll visit that stall later_. Umeko vowed internally as she walked past it.

“Ah, look!” Umeko pointed towards the goldfish scooping game and began to walk towards it, Ushijima in tow. The stall was brightly colored as it was, but the owner went even further and added neon signs, it was definitely an eye-catching attraction. “That looks like fun.” Umeko watched as a couple of children attempted to capture the goldfish. The aim of the game was simple. Using the scoop, the player has to find a way to move the fish from the small pool to their water bowl. The prize was the captured goldfish. In theory it sounded easy however the difficult portion was using the paper scoop the stall provided.

“Festival goldfish will die in a week.” Ushijima deadpanned. He knew from experience that there was no way the fish would live any longer no matter how well it was cared for.

“Don’t say that!” Umeko pouted. “It’s the experience which makes it worth it, and besides…” she glanced at the preoccupied children. Judging by their lack of reaction they didn’t hear Ushijima’s prior comment. “We can’t just crush dreams like that.”

“We did it!” Both boys had successfully managed to catch one goldfish each and proudly showed their spoils to their parents.

Umeko smiled smugly and looked up towards Ushijima. “See?”

Ushijima sighed in defeat, “That is the case.” When it was finally their turn the pair bought five scoops each and began their own goldfish hunt.

Unfortunately, after breaking four out of the five scoops it became very apparent that neither Ushijima nor Umeko had any talent for the game. Umeko looked at her last scoop. “Ok. Last one.” She furrowed her eyes in concentration as she focused in on one fish in particular. “This time for sure.” Keeping in mind the prior failed attempts Umeko swiftly slipped her scoop under the goldfish then flicked upwards. This time her efforts weren’t in vain. “I did it!” Umeko cheered as she showed off the single fish in her bowl of water.

Ushijima stifled back a chuckle at Umeko’s overly enthusiastic response. She had a tendency to become incredibly excited over the littlest of things; from a more negative perspective it could have been interpreted as childish, but for Ushijima it was rather endearing. “Good job.”

The pair thanked the stall owner then left hand in hand with their spoils of victory. Not even five minutes after they left the stall Umeko found herself leading Ushijima to a different stall. She followed the mild sugary smell towards a different stall not too far away from where they were prior. Unlike the goldfish stall this one was a bit smaller and was decorated with less obtrusive colors.

“Do you like candy apples?” Ushijima realized the direction that Umeko was headed in and matched his pace with hers.

“Is that what the smell is? I’ve never tried them before.” Once she could see what was being sold, her eyes widened. It was a small red apple on the end of the stick and coated with honey hued hard candy. The sugary outside made the apple seem to shine in under the light.

While Umeko was busy admiring the food item Ushijima took it upon himself to buy one. “A regular one, please.” He handed over the money and received the candy apple. “Ume.”

“Yeah?”

He held the apple in front of her and close to her mouth. “This is for you. It might take a while to reach the apple.”

Umeko’s smile was hidden behind the apple as she thanked him. Needing no further prompting she tentatively licked the sugary shell of the apple. She expected it to be a stronger and sweeter flavor but contrary to that belief, despite being candy it was a lot more mellow than she originally thought I would be.

Ushijima was taken aback by Umeko’s actions. He was just expecting her to take the snack from him and eat it that way, he was not mentally prepared for her to taste it while he was still in possession of the thing. A pink dusting slowly appeared on his face as Umeko licked her lips to get rid of the remnants of the sugar. He took a deep breath to compose himself but failed miserably only resulting in his face heating up more. “What do you think?”

“It’s yummy. You can have some if you want. We can share.” At this point Umeko’s ears were bright red and she could feel the butterflies in her stomach run rampant. She knew exactly what she was doing. Umeko tried to keep in her flustered reactions, her aim was to confess her feelings during the fireworks at the end of the night. Of course, Umeko knew how cliché that event was, but in the books she researched, it had a very high chance of success.

\--------

“Woah, woah, woah! That’s really sly!” Tendou pointed at Umeko from behind a bush. “Did you teach her that?!”

“No. I taught her nothing for the sort.” Shirabu rubbed his temples. “Ah, now that I think about it… Umeko did borrow an awful lot of romance novels from the library recently.” Shirabu began to recall seeing the stack of books on her desk, there had to be something in there that spurred her imagination.

“Oho?” Tendou grinned, it was curved upwards and clearly held nothing but mischief. “Quick, let’s follow them!”

_How did I even get into this?_ Shirabu cried internally. Tendou had somehow roped him into stalking Umeko and Ushijima. Something about wanting to make sure the date went well. He would be lying if he wasn’t the tiniest bit interested but he wasn’t so involved that he planned on following them. Shirabu and Tendou stealthily weaved through the crowds and stalls so they could keep their targets in range.

“Looks like something caught their eye.” Shirabu popped out from behind a stall and narrowed his eyes to focus on what was happening. “It’s an accessory stall.”

\--------

Ushijima and Umeko browsed through the different wares the stall had to offer, most of the items seemed a little pricier than the others but in terms of quality it was worth it. Ushijima found himself staring intently at the hairpins, he wasn’t quite well versed in choosing women’s hair accessories, so he was at a loss. He was aware of the basics being that it had to be something that matched her hair color and clothing but apart from that he was clueless.

Ushijima glanced at Umeko who seemed to be focusing just as hard as he was. _Maybe I should get her those?_ He had noticed earlier on that Umeko didn’t have anything in her hair and considered it a blessing in disguise. It would be easier to choose a gift, or so he thought. Ushijima severely underestimated the plethora of different designs a simple hairpin had to offer.

“Hey young man, find anything you have your eye on?” The elderly store owner leaned in close to Ushijima and whispered to get his attention. “My wife over there will keep your girlfriend occupied, I’ll help you choose a gift.” The man gestured to his stall partner then turned back to Ushijima.

“Ume…Isn’t my girlfriend…” Ushijima furrowed his eyebrows, somehow that was much harder to say than he thought it would be.

“…yet.” The elderly man finished for him. “Heh, don’t stress the details. Tonight is the perfect opportunity! Don’t squander your chance, young man”

Ushijima looked at the hairpins. “How are you so sure?”

“I've got years of experience in this.” He chuckled heartily. “And besides, this is where and when I asked my lovely wife to marry me.” He sighed as he mentioned the memory. “I remember it like it was yesterday…Bah! Enough of that. Do you have a special memory with your lady friend? Something symbolic perhaps?”

Ushijima didn’t stop looking through the accessories. “Yes, origami paper.” Ushijima looked towards the lighter colored hairpins then shook his head to keep his composure. “The first thing she made me was a lucky rabbit.” Ushijima's eyes wandered towards the few pins with tiny decorative bunnies. “I gave her a single flower near the beginning of the year.”

The store owner nodded as he listened to Ushijima's words. _From the sounds of things, the lad doesn’t need my help after all._

Ushijima held up a delicate looking piece and made sure Umeko couldn’t see it. “I’d like to buy this one.” It was a moderate sized hair piece which was just the right size for Umeko’s hair length. The pin portion was black so it would blend in well to her natural color, however, there were two small white bunnies -not dissimilar to what snow bunnies would look like- to make up the bulk of the design. Around the two there was a handful of pastel hued flowers which dangled downwards. At the end of the tassel were small glass beads that glittered when reflecting the light.

“That seems to be the perfect choice for her.” the man accepted Ushijima’s money then waved him off. “Now hurry and go. It’s almost time for the lantern ceremony and fireworks.” The elderly man waited till both Ushijima and Umeko left. “Good luck, young man.”


	40. Lost Baby Bear

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Festival part 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey boo, lets get sheet-faced and get this party startled!
> 
> Enjoy and have a Happy Halloween!

Umeko and Ushijima continued to walk around with full intent to go straight to the lantern site, that was until they picked up on the sound of a small child crying. “Where is that sound from?” Umeko perked up to the sound but couldn’t quite place where it was coming from amongst all the chatter surrounding them. “Can you see the kid?” Umeko looked up at Ushijima hoping for a positive response.

“Over by the benches and tables.” Ushijima held tight to Umeko’s hand as he walked at a faster pace. Not too fast that Umeko had to jog along, but fast enough that Umeko could potentially be left behind if he didn't hold on to her. He was fully aware that it wasn’t the most pleasant pace to walk at, but they couldn’t just leave the kid alone for any longer. Who knows what could happen?

Once they arrived Umeko approached the little girl carefully. She didn’t want to scare her away or worse, make her cry more. “Hey there, what’s wrong?” Umeko’s voice was soft as she spoke, “Are you lost?”

The small girl wearing a bear-eared headband nodded with a long sniff. Her brown eyes were swollen and red from crying and her face was a tear streaked mess. The poor thing couldn’t have been more than five years old. “I don’t know where my mummy and daddy are.” The girl began to cry again.

“It’s ok, take a deep breath.” Ushijima knelt down next to Umeko so all three of them were at the same height. He kept his tone smooth and his movements slow, he was well aware that he was rather intimidating and that wasn’t exactly the best trait to have when dealing with children. “Where did you lose them?”

The girl’s sobbing slowly died down to quiet hiccups and sniffles. “By the goldfish game…” She whimpered. “I wanted to get a goldfish but when I turned around mummy and daddy were gone.” Her bottom lip quivered as she tried her best not to cry again. “I-I tried to find them, but I don’t know where they are.”

Umeko wiped the girl’s tears away using her thumbs. The goldfish game was rather far from where they all were currently which in itself was very concerning. “Shall we go look for them together?” Umeko wasn’t sure if there was a ‘lost child center’ nearby or if there was one at all in the festival.

“Are they wearing anything we should keep an eye out for?” Ushijima stood up slowly. “I am very tall and can spot them easier.”

The girl nodded her head vigorously. “Mummy is wearing a pretty orange yukata and daddy is wearing a really ugly red yukata.” She wiped her tears away with a newfound determination then held her hands up towards Ushijima. “I want to help find them too.” 

At first neither Umeko nor Ushijima understood what the gesture meant, luckily it didn’t take the pair too long to understand what the bear-eared girl was talking about. Ushijima picked her up in his arms then ever so carefully sat her on his shoulders.

“Are you ok? It’s not too high, right?” Umeko fretted over the girl before turning to Ushijima. “Be careful, don’t walk too fast.” Once Ushijima nodded in confirmation, Umeko turned back to face the child on his shoulders. “Make sure you hold on tight, ok?”

“We can start by going back towards the goldfish stall.” Ushijima started walking in that direction making sure to be extra careful, there was a literal kid on his shoulders, and he couldn’t afford to drop her.

The girl held tight to Ushijima’s head as she looked around vigorously, as fate may have it, it didn’t take too long to find the girl's very distressed parents. Thanks to the extra height Ushijima provided, it was easy to spot the brightly dressed couple. “Mummy! Daddy!”

“Kira!? Kira baby, where are you!?” The woman clad in orange desperately looked around to pinpoint her daughter’s voice. She easily spotted the group of three and hurried over to them, husband in tow. “Oh my baby, we were so worried.”

“I’m sorry…I just wanted to get a fish” The girl seemed to visibly deflate. “I promise not to go too far again.

Ushijima moved the girl off his shoulders then handed Kira back to her family. “Don’t get lost again.”

Kira nodded and latched on tightly to her father. “I won’t”

“Make sure you look where you are going ok?” Umeko grinned happily, she was glad that Kira was able to safely reunite with her family.

“Thank you for helping her and bringing her back to us. I don’t know what we would have done otherwise.” Kira’s mother and father both thanked the pair and held tight to their daughter.

“It was no problem at all.” Just before both Umeko and Ushijima were about to leave Umeko turned around the held up her water filled bag with the swimming goldfish inside of it. “You can have this.” Umeko handed over the item with a smile. “Make sure you take good care of it ok?”

Kira’s eyes sparkled as she took the gift from Umeko. “I promise I’ll take super, duper, ultra, good care of it!”

Umeko suppressed a laugh which resulted in a wider grin and a quiet snort. _Kids are so cute._ “Good. Now be safe.” Umeko waved goodbye to the family then returned to Ushijima’s side. She slipped her hand in his comfortably and the pair resumed their walk to the lantern site.

\------

Following tradition, the paper lantern festival was held once a year. Everyone participating would write their wish on the paper lantern then send it up to the heavens or across the waters in hopes for their prayers to be answered. Originally the lanterns were plain and hardly decorated if at all, but in recent times the paper used in the lanterns came in different patterns and designs.

“All done.” Umeko held up her unlit lantern for Ushijima to see. She had chosen a plain lantern with the intent to decorate it herself. The stall they bought the lanterns from also provided colored pencils for the buyers to write their wish -and in Umeko’s case- to decorate. Her lantern still remained fairly simple, but she had drawn varying sizes of dandelion fluff all around her wish.

Ushijima had also finished exercising his creative liberties. “I’ve completed mine too.” Ushijima’s lantern was a little more spherical in design compared to the usual cylinder of Umeko’s lantern. At first it was a little hard to tell what the design was, but once the pair placed a candle inside each lantern, it became apparent that the design was that of a volleyball.

Umeko had to admit she was impressed with how creative he was in making his design. “Where did you write your wish?” Umeko held tight to her now lit lantern. It was still too early to release it into the air, so she had to make sure to keep a firm grip on it.

“My wish is written on the inside.” Ushijima would have attempted to show her where, but now that it was lit, he couldn’t just flip the thing on its side. Ushijima looked down at his lantern then back at Umeko, although he was only supposed to write one wish, he ended up writing two instead. Call him greedy but he couldn’t choose between the two. _Let’s hope both of them come true._

Finally, it was time to release the paper lanterns into the air, there was no wind and no rain. It was optimal weather. The pair let go of their own lanterns that carried their wishes and watched as they illuminated the dark night like stars. The lanterns that were released on the water seemed to merge with the reflections of those in the sky. It was an unearthly experience. 

Ushijima took a deep breath and took out the wrapped hairpin he had bought earlier. “Ume.”

Umeko perked up “Yes?” She turned to face him. “Is there something wrong?”

“No, it’s not that.” he was grateful that the dim lighting of the lanterns managed to obscure the growing blush on his face. Ushijima handed Umeko the gift, he felt his heart pounding loudly in his ears as she took it from him. “This is for you.”

Umeko was stunned as she accepted the gift. She took it with shaky hands as her chest squeezed. He had given her things before, but this time she felt her heart flutter and her face heat up more than usual. “Thank you.” She managed a shy smile unsure if Ushijima could see it or not. “Can I open it now?”

Ushijima nodded.

Umeko opened the wrapping and took out the gift. It was a hairpin. “This…” Umeko was speechless as she examined the gift. Everything from the flowers to the bunnies and even the beads were beautiful. Umeko’s fingers brushed over the bunnies and smiled at the memories that surfaced. It was a very well thought out gift and Umeko gratefully accepted. Instead of choosing words Umeko gave him a tight hug to express her feelings instead.

“Do you want me to put it in your hair for you?” Ushijima held out his hand already anticipating her answer.

“Yes please!” Umeko handed Ushijima the hairpin then turned around so he had access to the back of her head. Umeko waited till she felt the accessory was properly secured then she turned back to face Ushijima. “Does it look cute on me?” She was hesitant in her question as it took most of her courage to even ask it.

Ushijima moved his hand from Umeko’s hair then cupped her cheek with his left hand. “You are always cute.” His hand didn’t move away from her cheek. “It really suits you.” He spoke without a trace of hesitation or a lie. “But today…” He leaned in close and whispered, his breath tickling her ear, “…you look especially pretty.”

The smell of peaches surrounded her as her body tingled from the rumble of his voice, Umeko was certain she was undeniably bright pink. She examined every detail of Ushijima’s face, his nose, his jawline, his eyes, his lips… _What are you doing!? This is it, the perfect time._ Umeko scrambled back to her senses. “Ushijima...”

“Hm?”

Umeko took a deep breath in before she resolved herself to tell Ushijima her feelings. “I lik-” Fireworks burst through the dark night in fiery blooms as the sound overpowered her words. The pair both looked up at the sky startled out of their daze.

“Sorry, I didn’t hear that over the fireworks.”

As if on cue more fireworks exploded, the vivid colors lighting up the backdrop of the night. Each one seemed to draw a pattern above them, something unique and breathtaking. No matter how many fireworks were ignited there were no two exactly alike.

Umeko pouted as the fireworks continued to burst. She had been psyching herself up to confess all night and she couldn’t back down now. It was the perfect time and moment. “Ushijima!” She shouted to get his attention.

Ushijima turned towards Umeko again, barely able to hear her voice over the sound.

Umeko mustered all her remaining courage. Y _ou can do this!_ She held onto the collar of Ushijima’s clothes in an attempt to bring herself up. Umeko stood on her tippy toes and kissed Ushijima's lips without so much as a warning.

Ushijima’s lips were soft against hers and although it was sudden it was most definitely not unwanted. He wrapped his arms round her and pulled her closer to him, so their bodies were pressed together. He couldn’t hear the fireworks as he deepened the kiss. He felt like he was floating in the air, heat bloomed where their skin made contact and left him breathless. Ushijima would be lying if he said he hadn't thought about what it would be like to kiss her.

Umeko felt the relentless butterflies in her stomach turn into bubbles as he returned the gesture. It was as if everything else around them didn’t matter. The kiss tasted like candy apples as her eyes fluttered shut. It was soft and incredibly gentle despite his arms wrapped around her.

Both Umeko and Ushijima weren’t sure if the kiss was barely a second or an eternity as time seemed to stop around them. The lights of the fireworks burst in color and reluctantly they both pulled away from the kiss, their faces equally as red and breathless.

“C-can I take that as an ‘I like you too’?” Umeko looked upwards to Ushijima with an uncontrollable smile.

He nodded then put his forehead against hers and gave her a quick peck on the lips once more. “More than words could describe.” Ushijima intertwined his fingers with hers. "Ume, will you be my girlfriend?"


	41. This is Fate

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> TIMESKIP!  
> Well, rather a short snippet?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not to brag, but I still fit into the lack of enthusiasm I had in high school.
> 
> Enjoy!

**_-_ ** **\----EIGHT YEARS LATER-----**

“Alright class that’ll be all for today. Don’t forget about the project. It’s due in three days.” Umeko waved her students goodbye as she dismissed them.

“Um, Professor... I'm not quite sure what to draw for the topic.” The student furrowed their eyebrows clearly in distress. “I just feel like the topic is too vague.”

Umeko took a moment to reply. Since becoming a college art professor, she was used to all kinds of questions and people. “The topic is supposed to give you creative liberties. ‘Attainable destiny’ can be interpreted in countless ways and as a college class it’s a chance to show off those ideas and make something of it.” Umeko began to pack her own belongings in her bag. “Art is an expression and application of human creativity and imagination. The freedom to think for yourself. If I were to give an overly specific topic wouldn’t it go against that?”

\---------

Ushijima walked into the locker room and began to change into his volleyball uniform. His eyes wandered to the paper bunny inside his locker. Even after all those years he still kept good care of the charm. Originally, Umeko was going to make him a new one but he refused. There was something special about the current bunny and he wasn’t going to get rid of it any time soon.

After graduation he was scouted by a fair number of teams. He started in Schweiden Adlers then moved on to Japan’s National Team. Though it was surprising to see some old opponents in the team; he had no regrets with his decision. They were teammates now and that’s all that mattered.

“It’s almost time to warm up! All of you get on court in thirty minutes.” Their coach called from outside the locker room.

\--------

Umeko walked out of the college campus and looked at her watch. _Looks like I can make it._ Luckily her class didn’t go over time and she didn’t have much homework to grade.

Umeko hastily dialed a number and hoped for the best. “Hello, Hashimoto? Yeah. Sorry I don’t think I’ll be able to make it today. I have something really important that I can’t miss.”

Hashimoto sighed from the other end of the phone. “I figured. But next time alright?”

“I promise. Though it is your fault that you decided on going out last minute.” Umeko responded ruefully.

“That was not my fault at all. Sakuma was the one who forgot to tell you earlier.” Hashimoto sighed and rubbed her forehead. “Sometimes I wonder how he manages to be an adult.”

Umeko laughed. “He is just trying his best. Anyway, I need to go now! Bye! See you some time later!” Umeko hung up and put her phone away as soon as she got to her car. It didn’t take very long to drive to the venue and thankfully she found a parking space near the entrance doors.

Hastily she got out of her car, locked it then practically jogged to the entrance. It was a little chilly outside and she regretted not bringing a jacket. She pulled out her phone and began to text Shirabu.

**_Umeko:_ ** _Are you coming to watch the game?_

**_Shirabu:_ ** _Of course. I'm about to leave work._

**_Umeko:_ ** _Ok, drive safely_

**_Shirabu:_ ** _Who do you take me for? I’m the safer driver between the two of us._

**_Umeko:_ ** _Whatever you say._

_**Umeko:** Wait! _

_**Umeko:** Isn’t Tendou coming to visit this week?_

**_Shirabu:_ ** _You asked this yesterday._

**_Shirabu:_ ** _He’s still in France, he is coming NEXT week._

**_Umeko:_ ** _Ohhhhhhh lol thanks :D_

Umeko put her phone back in her pocket then continued to walk to the viewing area.

“Watch out!” A voice called from her left, but it was too late. The pair crashed into each other and landed on the ground with a hard thump.

Umeko looked at who had bumped into her. It was a boy clad completely in the Japan volleyball team merchandise and he didn’t look at all older than her students. “Sorry, I should have been more careful.” The boy stood up abruptly and offered his hand to Umeko.

“No, no. I should have paid more attention to what was going on around me.” She allowed herself to be helped up then patted herself down. “Don’t worry, it was my bad too.”

“Ah! Call me Alex by the way!” He held out his hand for a handshake. The boy rubbed the back of his head embarrassed at his blunder. "I, uh...Nice to bump into you?"

“You can call me Umeko then” Umeko smiled and shook his hand. She was now much more comfortable meeting new people and she daresay sometimes enjoyed it.

“Oh, you dropped something.” He picked up a small book by Umeko’s feet then handed it back to her. “You're learning how to speak polish?”

Umeko nodded. “Yeah, we are thinking of moving there soon so it’s important for me to learn the language.”

“We?” Alex raised an eyebrow.

“Yes, my husband and I are planning on going after this volleyball season.”

“Is he a player in the Japan team!?”

Umeko felt a surge of pride, “Yep!” she chirped happily.

Alex’s eyes widened “That’s so cool!” He practically vibrated on spot, he was a diehard fan and nothing would ever change that. “What position does your husband play?! No, wait. Who is he!?”

“Opposite hitter. Ushijima Wakatoshi.” A familiar voice approached the pair.

Umeko immediately turned around to face her husband and wrap him in a hug. “Hi there, I missed you.”

“I missed you too.” Ushijima held Umeko in a tight embrace and gave her a quick kiss before releasing her. “Did you have a good day at work?”

“Mhn, it was good.”

Alex looked two seconds away from fanboying as he gawked at the pair. “U-Ushijima! I-I’m a big fan of yours!” He held out a pen and an autograph card. “Can I have your autograph please?! A-and…and maybe a picture too?” His voice dwindled near the end as he added to his request.

Umeko and Ushijima looked at each other then back at Alex. They were in agreement. “One autograph and one quick photo. I have to warm up for the match soon.”

It didn’t even take five minutes for both the autograph and photo to be completed. “Thank you so much! I’ll never forget this day for as long as I live! I’ll pass this down as a family heirloom.” Alex hugged the autograph and fanned himself. As if reading the mood, he hastily excused himself from the conversation. “I-uh, good luck! I’ll leave you two to...uh...do whatever you do.”

The pair watched as Alex awkwardly scampered away. “Looks like you have another diehard fan.” Umeko giggled. “But I think I'm still your biggest fan.”

“That seems to be the case.” Ushijima kissed her forehead then looked at the time “I need to head back now. It’s time to warm up.”

“Aw, alright. Good luck!” He gave him another hug. “Do your best.”

“Anything for my wife.”

**_~FIN_ **

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Remember Alex? Well, I believe he deserves all the best after what happened.


	42. To the Dreamers and Believers

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Author's Note

Hi!

It’s all finally come to an end.

It’s such a weird feeling. Like it’s all over now. This has me mind blown.

Honestly, I was never really a fan of Ushijima but after writing this I have a new appreciation for the guy and now I've come to terms with the fact that I might actually like him. Just a little.

Umeko is probably the softest OC I’ve ever made and or written about. Truthfully sometimes it was a little difficult because there were so many things I wanted her to say, but then I realized that there was no way she would even think about saying those things. But overall, I think she has grown on me a lot.

This is my second Haikyuu fanfic and I planned this one to be shorter but apparently not. Like all my other fics I've noticed I have an issue when it comes to writing shorter stories. I’m also exceptionally bad at guessing.

Anyway, do you want to read more stuff? Well, now you can!

BNHA/MHA? No problem, I gotchu!

Haikyuu? No problem, I also gotchu!

I’ve already started writing my next Haikyuu fic I'm just having trouble with the gender of the OC. Not gonna lie, I'm leaning towards a male OC this time. But anyway. The next one will be about a different school and a different Haikyuu boi.

It’ll be another OC insert because I can’t write reader inserts for the life of me. It’ll probably be posted in a week or two maybe? Idk tbh, a month? A day? I really have no clue. It’ll be part of the [Haikyuu School Tour Series](https://archiveofourown.org/series/1894423)\- as will my previous and future Haikyuu fics.

Anyway. Thank you for continuing to read and for making it this far and most of all giving this fic a chance! I know OC inserts aren’t very popular compared to the other stuff. So y’all are awesome. I really hope you enjoyed reading the fic and learning shitty one liners and facts in the beginning notes. Thank you for the kudos, comments, subs and bookmarks! <3 I finally understand how much motivation it gives.

Feel free to Q&A in comments if you have any or you can just DM me. (via insta or discord)

Anyway, that’s pretty much it,

Lots of love Piggycat <3 [roast_pork_be_sizzling](https://www.instagram.com/roast_pork_be_sizzling/)

Stay safe!

\------

Don’t ever give up on your dreams no matter how impossible they seem.

  * For the Dreamers and Believers



****

**_-A Thousand Cranes for a Wish ~2020_ **


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